Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I know every snake is different, but what are some examples of the length and weight of a healthy 17 month old yellow rat snake.
I'm curious about their growth rates compared to other rat snakes and what to expect at that age.
Thanks :]

am I wrong in expecting a healthy 17 month old yellow rat to be more than 29 grams? it seems incredibly small for the age

I cant help much in regards to weight as i never weigh my animals, but I kept a pair of everglades rats (basicaly the same as yellows) years ago.

I remember them hitting about 3' around the 1.5 year mark but being very slim. it wasn't until they were 3 - 3.5 years old that they started to thicken up and gain weight, before that they just got longer and longer but stayed skinny.

despite being thin, they were always active and felt very strong when held.

Thanks Aaron, I was curious, mine is 17 months old, 19.3 inches

That animal from what i can see appears very healthy and is of a decent size for its age.
I have had a few North American rat snakes (black, yellow, glades, Texas, and gray) that were still slightly smaller than 18" at the two year mark.(although most are closer to 30" All of them were also four and a half to five and a half foot, by the fourth year! Growth rates have a lot to do with sexes, temps, and feeding in my experience. I "power feed" in early spring and early fall, feed sparingly in hot summer months, and go off feed for brumation(stop feeding about two or three weeks before brumation, to let them cleanse) My temps are kept between 78 and 86 degrees during normal feeding seasons and around 44 to 53 degrees during brumation, occasionally rising to 60 during midday. My snakes eat three to four times in a two week period during "power feeding" and once or twice every two weeks during hot summer months.(shed cycles are an exception) Also, male rat snakes often grow much faster than females.
hope this helps

Thanks Amer :]

I won't say what you should or should not do regarding feeding. I have a few colubrids that I grew more slowly than what would be considered more common for captivity growth. All are extremely healthy. The few that I did breed had no trouble at all laying eggs. IMO slow growth is not a problem in any way as long as the snake functions normally and is not being starved.

In the wild, slow growth could mean the snake is at risk of predation for a longer time. That is why baby snakes will eat all thru winter in captivity if allowed to - the instinct is to eat and grow quickly.