Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I've seen some kingsnakes that were pretty fat. My girlfriends gray banded is about 2' long, maybe a little less, and about the width of a non-overweight adult's pinky. From the looks of it's tail, it's a female.

Is it common for a gray banded to be thin, or is she still growing?

(she's had her for about a year)

If not, my guess is that she didn't live in great circumstances, so she didn't grow that well. I just recently gave her a larger enclosure and a light on a timer to give her night and day. The temps have always been right, I know that, I've been using an infra red thermometer.

Any thoughts?

Sounds a little thin. Try to get a fecal done at a good vet. If you can find a good vet it should only cost about $10. They often want to do a exam but I get the feeling it is for the money more than the health of the animal. You snake may have been started on lizards and got parasites from them. While it will live for awhile in captive conditions, the lack of choices the snake has will allow even simple parasies to build up and kill them. Even if they don't get bad enough to kill the snake they can still cause problems like you see. On the other hand you cound just have a skinny snake. I have a pair of yearling that are like Abbott and Costello. One is long and slim the other is short and fat. They have been side by side all their lives and until recently have been fed the same.

Good luck with your snake and get a fecal done to be safe.

Thanks Jason