What is a garter snakes life expectancy?

[stan73]

Hi folks

I was just wondering how long can I expect a garter snake live?
Who's got the oldest on here or had the longest lived?
I guess it may vary with species, I currently just have a female checkered.

Thanks

Stan

[gregmonsta]

Generally 10-15 years in captivity. They can live longer on occaision.

[ssssnakeluvr]

I had a wandering for 9 years, she was wild caught and an adult when I got her.

[Stefan-A]

Generally 10-15 years in captivity. They can live longer on occaision.

Also shorter. Usually shorter, perhaps.

[ConcinusMan]

Wild-caught as babies, a male concinnus of mine lived 18 years, a female 21 years.

I've heard that checkered's have a good long lifespan too.

But like Stefan said, shorter is usually the case. 10 years is pretty typical.

[stan73]

Cool. I read somewhere, maybe a book that 6 years was typical in captivity and 2 years in the wild but I normally get better info from forums than from books. 21 years is really good.

[ConcinusMan]

The reality in the wild is that approximately 85% of offspring do not survive their first winter. Of the one's that do survive the first winter, only a tiny fraction survive long enough to have offspring of their own, let alone reach 10 years old.

21 years is dang miracle if you ask me, even in captivity. I'm still shocked about that. A lot of people don't even believe me. I have no reason to lie about it. I can hardly believe it myself.

Other garters I've kept lived 6-9 years.