What's the age?

[Sushi]

Hello. I am getting my first snake. I've found one on Kijiji. I'm going later today to check him out, see if he's healthy etc. Are there any questions I should ask or things to look for?

Also, he's saying the snake is 1 and a half years old... I'm still learning about snakes but I did see a video on you tube with a "yearling" and it was alot smaller than this guy. How old do you think this guy looks? I'm worried if he's lying about the age he could be lying about other things... The tank is a 15G if that helps sizing. And it's the orange one.

Thanks!!

 

[sarcare]

It could be a year and a half--a yearling at only a year can be smaller, particularly if it wasn't well fed. Snakes, from what I've read on this forum, can grow at different rates and gain different amount of weights depending on what they are fed and just individual genetics.

 

[susang]

It is difficult to tell age by size, but 1.5 years would seem about right for that snake. My questions would be sex of snakes in that tank, if male and female, you could end up with a gravid snake. Check for mites, eating schedule, what has it been eatin f/t, live???

 

[Sushi]

I did ask what it eats. He said 2 hoppers every other week. Frozen. And he said both are males.

Thanks for answering so quick about age. I feel pretty good about this guy. He doesn't seam to BS me or anything. When I asked questions he didn't know he said he'd find out for me instead of just pretending he knew.

:bird: I'm getting really excited!!

 

[susang]

Well there is a clue in this 2 hoppers every other week. Those could be 3yo snakes just small. Just for an example my two yo old eats a sm/med adult mouse every 10 days. Whatever the size of mouse every two weeks is pretty spread out unless you have a big adult corn like a kilo in weight.

 

[Sushi]

Well we went and saw them yesterday and they were actually smaller than I thought. We actually really liked them both and are thinking of getting both of them. But now I have another question.

I read that snakes are solitary. Is it bad to have 2 in the same tank? I asked the guy and he said they have never been apart and always sleep together, and since they are adults now their hormones are "raging" and they are fine together. He said to just feed them separately.

One more question. Is that tank size ok for the 2 of them? Should it be bigger?

Thanks!

 

[Susan]

Well we went and saw them yesterday and they were actually smaller than I thought. We actually really liked them both and are thinking of getting both of them. But now I have another question.

I read that snakes are solitary. Is it bad to have 2 in the same tank? I asked the guy and he said they have never been apart and always sleep together, and since they are adults now their hormones are "raging" and they are fine together. He said to just feed them separately.

One more question. Is that tank size ok for the 2 of them? Should it be bigger?

Thanks!

If the guy told you they were 1 1/2 yrs old and when you looked at them, they were smaller than what you thought, and are eating only 2 fuzzies every other week, they are NOT adults and don't have "raging hormones". Most members here do not recommend cohabitation and you can perform a search for all the threads discussing the reasons behind their decisions. They "sleep together" because in a tank that size (OK for one that size but will be outgrown before the snake actually reaches adulthood), there is probably only one "ideal" resting spot where everything is "just right". They are strictly competing for that spot.