Telling the age of garters?

[Stefan-A]

I don't think anyone wants to know that badly but hey, I'll keep that in mind for when big bertha kicks the bucket.

Researchers do.

[ConcinusMan]

Anyone here

[RedSidedSPR]

Not I, says Me. I ain't gonna chop up my snake, so gimme some real help here, people

[guidofatherof5]

Not I, says Me. I ain't gonna chop up my snake, so gimme some real help here, people

Too many variables that come into play.
Young or old I'm sure your snake will do fine.

[ConcinusMan]

I don't think anyone wants to know that badly but hey, I'll keep that in mind for when big bertha kicks the bucket.

Researchers do.

Well of course they do, everyone and everything dies eventually.

[ConcinusMan]

Too many variables that come into play.
Young or old I'm sure your snake will do fine.

Steve brings up a point here. The age of your snake is not critical matter anyway. It doesn't really matter that you do not know it's exact age. I think it is safe to say that your snake is young, based on observations, probably less than 3 years old.

[mustang]

I don't think anyone wants to know that badly but hey, I'll keep that in mind for when big bertha kicks the bucket.

WAIT DO YOU WATCH SANCTUARY....or is one of your snakes named big bertha?

[RedSidedSPR]

The age of your snake is not critical matter anyway.

I know, I just thought it would be nice to know. 3 years or so is good enough for me. Thanks

[RedSidedSPR]

Okay, he just shed again, and has apparently (I measured) has grown two inches in a month and a half!!

[nitrogen15]

Here's a nice article about it: JSTOR: An Error Occurred Setting Your User Cookie
As they say in the paper, size just isn't reliable because growth rates are too variable between individuals.

Only mark-recapture and skeletochronology are considered reliable. Fish have rings on their scales because they don't shed them, but snakes don't keep their scales.

Frequency of sheds and rate of growth can probably give you a general idea.