Reptile & Amphibian Forums

It's time once again for - Guess That Age!

Knowing that Rat snakes generally hatch at 10-14 inches in length, and have a predictable growth rate, I am trying to guess the age of my recent re-homed male.

He is 28-30 inches long. My 2011 Amur/Russian yearling is slightly less long and wide. Does this suggest that my Red Rat is a 2010 hatchling, or was just better fed?

All experienced, serious replies welcomed.

1.0 Elaphe schrencki
1.0 Elaphe guttata

(I'm waiting for Unger et all to provide supportive scientific data that New World rat snakes belong to a separate Pantherophis taxonomy category. Like many others in the scientific community, I'm still waiting.)

"Rat snakes generally hatch at 10-14 inches in length, and have a predictable growth rate"

Well that's not true at all. Snakes fed the exact same diet can have significantly different growth rates.

If a snake was cooled in the winter it will grow slower than a snake fed year-round.

A Russian Rat Snake is not related to a Corn Snake in the sense that they are two completely different genera (the common name "Rat Snake" is meaningless in this case).

Russian Rat Snakes experience tremendous grow rates - much faster than most Corn Snakes.

So there's no way to accurately guess a snake's age by it's size.

Also, some snakes, especially Corn Snakes, seem genetically "pre-programmed" to grow to a smaller-than average size.

Tim

Third Eye Herp

"Knowing that Rat snakes generally hatch at 10-14 inches in length, and have a predictable growth rate, "

Not true at all, actually. I have some yearlings that weigh in at 50 grams right now. But I've also had yearlings that weighed over 100 grams. One of my females is also what's referred to as a "linebacker" in that she is a short, thick-bodied individual. She's 3 years old, and about 200 grams now.

To demonstrate how much they can grow in a short period of time, here are my two-year-olds. I hatched these in August of 2010, and when I measured them in early July they were both a little over 4 feet in length. They were cooled last winter for about a month and a half.

Sorry for the feet in the second pic!
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Kent

That gave me a much better idea.

I think that my Corn is a 2011 hatchling, roughly the same size as my Russian.

Remember it depends on how much your corn has been fed. I have seen two-year-olds that were much smaller than mine.
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Kent

Like Kent said, it depends very much on how much it has been fed. Sometimes a snake will start out as a finicky eater, then develop a much bigger appetite later. Some remain finicky, refusing meals in between.
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Disclaimer: I do keep several snakes in pairs, and some in groups. However I realize that things can go wrong, and I have to keep a close eye on those groups, to be sure they are not being adversely affected by these living conditions. Also if one happens to eat it's cagemate, it is 100% my fault, and I know the risks in advance!

What's wrong with using CAUTION?!?!?!
King Snakes! Who can make a better mouse trap?
~ Jorge Sierra www.SierraSnakes.com