Hello, its been my experience, with all reptiles, that faster they grow as neonates, the better producers they are as adults(and live longer)

There is no question that females get larger then males. But that has nothing to do with neonate growth. Males simply slow stop growing(slow down a whole lot) at a smaller size then females.

Also, husbandry has a lot to do with growth, both in captivity and support in nature. In poor years, they simply do not grow as much as good years. The average size of adults in nature, tell you what the conditions were when they were small.

The reality is, hogs can grow very quickly if supported, a fast as any snake.

Lastly, in captivity, folks tend to average EVERYTHING. Temps/feeding etc. In nature, with most animals and hogs fit, its boom or bust. Biology has a habit of averaging data.(to quantify) the problem is the average individual in nature does not make it. only the superior individuals do. Cheers

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