What Garter Do I Have?

[adamanteus]

I still think it's a T.s.sirtalis. And I think it's a male.

[RedSided]

The shots from above don't coclusively sex it but I would sway closer towards male becasue there is not a noticable taper after its rear end (or cloaca).It may still have some growing to do, what size vivarium do you keep it in?

As for subspecies I have no idea.

[Nova89]

The shots from above don't coclusively sex it but I would sway closer towards male becasue there is not a noticable taper after its rear end (or cloaca).It may still have some growing to do, what size vivarium do you keep it in?

As for subspecies I have no idea.

As of right now it is in a 10 gallon. When it gets bigger I will upgrade it, but it doesn't look like it's getting bigger anyway. I feed it all the time. I give it frogs, tadpoles, pinkies, fuzzies, fish, chicken liver, and chicken gizzards. He gets a variety of foods and eats often, but never grows. It's been about the same size since I got him and I am kind of getting bored with a non-growing snake.

[RedSided]

This may not be scientifically correct ,but I have herd that some snakes will only grow as big as thier enclosure allows,they get stunted in other words, I have no idea if that is correct or not.

Also if you are feeding it frogs and other wild cought food there is a small possibility it may have contracted some parestites,eg worms. If it does have an infestation of worms then they could be taking all the nutrition he needs from the food to grow.

Another possibility is that he is just a runt>

Check his defecations to see if there are any worm like fragments.Remember even if you dont find any its not conclusive that he is clean.If you suspect strongly that he has parasites take him down to the vet.For now keep an eye on him , is he lively?, any wheezing?, lumps and bumps under the skin?.

Didn't mean to scare you but anything is possible realy, hes most likely just a small snake. How long did you say you've had him? Even small snakes take a long time to grow.

[adamanteus]

It just looks like a full grown male sirtalis!

[RedSided]

I cant get any idea of scale form those pics,but id probably just ignore what I said .

[Cazador]

This may not be scientifically correct ,but I have herd that some snakes will only grow as big as thier enclosure allows,they get stunted in other words, I have no idea if that is correct or not.

This is a well-known phenomenon for fish, but not for snakes.

[adamanteus]

I've never seen a snake stunted by it's enclosure. And I've seen some REAL big snakes in some REAL small enclosures. Poor things!

[RedSided]

Its just something I said in passing, as said its probably not scientificly true, I think someone mentioned it to me a while back.Again thanks for the response on that one to blow it out of the water

[Nova89]

Also if you are feeding it frogs and other wild cought food there is a small possibility it may have contracted some parestites,eg worms. If it does have an infestation of worms then they could be taking all the nutrition he needs from the food to grow.

Another possibility is that he is just a runt>

Check his defecations to see if there are any worm like fragments.Remember even if you dont find any its not conclusive that he is clean.If you suspect strongly that he has parasites take him down to the vet.For now keep an eye on him , is he lively?, any wheezing?, lumps and bumps under the skin?.

Didn't mean to scare you but anything is possible realy, hes most likely just a small snake. How long did you say you've had him? Even small snakes take a long time to grow.

I don't think it is sick at all. It is very active and aggressive. It loves to hide and loves to eat. I have had it since July 1st, 2006 and it has shed 4 times since then. You would think it would look bigger after each shed but that is not the case at all. It did seem to get longer though...