Size after one year?

[Askyneedsclouds]

A quick update,
she is eating very well, I feed her twice a week so she gets to catch up a little bit, in total it is one pinkie and a little bit of fish per week. This should work, I guess.
Another short question- is it normal that she hangs out in the water dish a lot? Like, A LOT. Sometimes she even falls asleep and when I go to bed I see she is still in there.. I thought maybe the temperatures were the problem, but they cant be, it is not warm in here..
So it seems like she just likes bathing?
Also, she drinks very often. Maybe it's just because I watch her a lot and I notice it all the time, but she takes really big sips a few times a day.

Odd questions, I know. But she's my first snake and I want to have her as healthy as possible..

[guidofatherof5]

Well Cynthia, in my experience some garters love being in water but that can also be a possible sign of trouble.
The trouble I'm talking about is reptile mites. When your snake is out of the water have you ever noticed any strange scraping behavior?
Another thing you can do is take a piece of white paper towel. Allow the snake to crawl through it while you hold the paper towel around the snake's body. Hold it tight enough that the snake has to squeeze through. Do this a couple times then inspect the paper towel under bright light and preferably a magnifying lens. You are looking for anything that is moving. Mites are dark in color and are microscopic when very young.
I'm not trying to alarm you but soaking for long periods of time and for days isn't what I would call normal.
I hope that you find your snake has a liking for water only.

[Askyneedsclouds]

Hi Steve,
thank you for your very quick and elaborate reply! After letting her crawl through the paper towel like suggested and examining the water bowl as well, I cannot see any sign of mites at all. It would have been a surprise, as the breeder was very precautious with her snakes. I guess this is a good sign, I will certainly monitor this.
And then- could it be that she'll be shedding soon? Her eyes havent gone blue, but I figured it might be time soon and I thought she looks a bit less "shiny" today. Could you see signs of shedding before the eyes turn blue? It could be a reason why she soaks so much..

[chris-uk]

I found that my snakes stopped spending time in their water bowls as they became more comfortable in their vivs and settled in. I've had a couple of garters that spent a lot of time in water for a few weeks, maybe a couple of months, but now I don't often see them in their water - they seem to prefer the dryer places.
I think that they tend to feel safe under water, once they feel safe in the viv they rely on the water less.

[Askyneedsclouds]

Thank you Chris,
this was very helpful to know. I guess if I don't come across anything suspicious I will just wait a few weeks and maybe she will settle.