Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I have a few questions regarding the potential length and girth of bull snakes in relation to age.

More specifically, at what age to bullsnakes start to put on girth and become more heavy-bodied?

I have a few bullsnakes but my questions are in regards to an 07 individual (3 in June) that is at least 5ft in length. I'm not motivated enough to get an exact measurement.

How much growth potential is left at this age? I'm well aware of the fact that snakes continue to grow throughout life...........To clarify my question, will the increase in size he puts on from here on out be negligible?

I have had pituophis in my collection for just under 3 years. I'm used to keeping smaller colubrids and a few varanus. I'd just like to get an idea of what I can expect from this guy.

I have a 5 foot Eastern King female that was probably about 3' at 3 years of age ... if this helps at all. Many colubrids have somewhat similar growth patterns but they're all individuals.
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- Matt

1.0 Black Milk '04
1.0 Andean Milk '06
0.1 Eastern King '97
0.1 Bullsnake '09

Thank you sir! Yes it did help. Here are some pics of the stillwater bullsnake getting some sun in our outdoor enclosure. He's definitely at least 5-5.5 because his tail reaches my chin when he's streched out.

Thanks for looking.

yeah my king put on a lot of size and also a lot of girth as she got older, although that mostly depends on how much I feed her. She is 13 now.

Love your outdoor enclosure. Really nice looking bull. Reminds me of my '09 bull... hope mine grows up to look as nice as yours.

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- Matt

1.0 Black Milk '04
1.0 Andean Milk '06
0.1 Eastern King '97
0.1 Bullsnake '09

Nice bull!
With your outdoor enclosure, how did you do the floor so the snake can't burrow out?

We added a stone layer to get a flat base. Then we took landscaping rock tiles and fitted them to the bottom. They are similar to the stepping stones people put in their yards. I think the were something like 2x2. They all fit together tightly and the mesh from the screen folds under them about a 5 inches.

You can find them at menards/home depot in the garden section.

Thanks for the info. Stones and bricks will not rust out like hardware cloth, a material I had at one time considered. I am going to make an outdoors habitat out of an old octagonal screen gazebo, and will employ the stones and patio bricks method for flooring. This will give me an area 77.25 square feet for a summer room for my pits. I will have to cut the patio stones to fit the inside perimeter of the octagon. Guess I've got to buy a chop saw. A man can never have too many tools! LOL!

Do you leave your snake over night in this cage? Where I live there is a permanent population of raccoon, fox, and skunk, so I have to bring my babies in at night. They go out in portable 2x2x4 ft screen cages which I can carry in and out of the cabin. Also the nighttime temps can drop considerably even during the height of summer here in the Sierra foothills.

That sounds like a cool setup. The stones are definitely a good long term base. Post some pics when your done. I'd like to see the finished product.

I do leave the snake out if the weather is warm. Summers are generally pretty warm here in Illinois and the humidity holds most of that warmth throughout the night.

I live near nature too....woods in my yard...so there are plenty of racoons around. My enclosure is based around a dog kennel so there is chain link barrier between my snakes and any possible predators.