Its just there natural sizes, like mine I have T. s. Sirtalis(Eastern Garter)
and they can get up to about 3ft or more...it really depends on the snake
how good of health, how well it eats, the area its in, and all that stuff..

I'm not to sure how big Pickeringii get but some one here does!!!!! You'll find anything and everything you need to know about Garters here....
