MONSTER garter snakes

[joeysgreen]

I read this thread, then realized it was an oldie. Two thoughts; first of course is the ol' fish story. 5' garters eh? The narcisse dens in Manitoba are one of the most studied snake populations on the planet. If you're regularly finding something that isn't matching the documented science, then reconsider your methods. Generally, gartersnakes can be stretched along a measuring tape or ruler.
Second, there is growing evidence that human pressures favor smaller snake size. Larger snakes are more likely to be hit by a car, killed by snake haters, or collected for a pet. The population that I studied this spring had an average size 10-15cm shorter than 15 years ago. Max length was also very much reduced.

[chris-uk]

Reasonable points about wild populations getting smaller.

In captivity though I'm aware of a female marcianus which weighs in around 800g measures well over 100cm and is generally regarded as a big girl. She's bigger than my Cuitzeo girl. I think in captivity it's down to feeding and care, the selective pressures that may produce smaller wild populations are absent.

[d_virginiana]

My biggest right now (my only female is a juvenile) is my old blind guy. He's close to 3 feet. Born from a wc female in a petstore. I always think other males are sickly or stunted when I first see them, because I'm comparing them to him.

May be unrelated, but I imagine populations near large bodies of water are larger than others. Probably why blue-stripes and florida blues have a rep for being some of the larger ones in the hobby. Also, the only really large ones I've ever found in the wild have been near large, permanent lakes. Could be something to do with having a large food supply as well as being less likely to encounter humans if they stay in a swampy environment?

[jmonahan]

Seriously? Would love to see pics!

I have a 4 foot female radix

[jmonahan]

Agree 100%. I've seen way too many people over-estimate the size of snakes. Seems adrenalin plays an important part here. When someone tells me the size of the "huge" snake they saw, I usually reduce it by 1/3 to 1/2. In 40 years and thousands of garters I've never seen one over 38 inches.

[Stefan-A]

Agree 100%. I've seen way too many people over-estimate the size of snakes. Seems adrenalin plays an important part here. When someone tells me the size of the "huge" snake they saw, I usually reduce it by 1/3 to 1/2. In 40 years and thousands of garters I've never seen one over 38 inches.

People tend to over- and underestimate their size by about as much, in my experience. Maybe it just depends on whether people see them stretched out or coiled up.

[Tommytradix]

i used serpwidgets to measure

[Tommytradix]

20141026_111122-1.jpg20141026_114326-1.jpg

[Tommytradix]

20141011_150949-1.jpg​shes 5 years old

[Tommytradix]

shes 100% het hybino she origanlly belonged to scott felzer