Is my one year old garter not growing fast enough? (pics)

[xStatic]

I got my female albino checkered garter about 11 months ago and I'm assuming she's close to a year old by now. I'm afraid she isn't as big as she should be by now. She eats about 1/4 of a frozen pinky a week and sometimes I throw in an inch or two of earthworm. She sheds every month or two usually and her sheds are always in one piece. When I got her she had an injury to her eye and I think she may be blind in that eye but other than that she seems healthy. Sorry the pictures I have of her aren't the best.

Current:





A year ago:

[Steveo]

You could probably bump the feeding up to every 5th day or so. 1/4 of a pinky doesn't sound like a lot but I know that pinky sized can vary pretty widely. I don't think slow growth is worrying and some actually prefer it. I try to find a middle-ground.

Sometimes when I'm not sure if I'm feeding enough I'll let a snake pig out once and then adjust the amount I give them accordingly. For example, I have an adult wandering garter that gave birth a few weeks ago. yesterday was feeding day and I had some food left over from some picky eaters, so I let her have at it. She ate the adult mouse I had planned to give her plus a rat pinky and two mouse pinkies. I'm not going to give her that much every time, but now I know that if she's not putting the weight back on I can feed her more and/or more often.

[indigoman]

That is very small for a 1yr. old female, she should be eating more. I do have a hold back runt of the litter that is the same way,. healthy in all ways but has a small appetite. So she is small compared to her siblings.

[xStatic]

That is very small for a 1yr. old female, she should be eating more. I do have a hold back runt of the litter that is the same way,. healthy in all ways but has a small appetite. So she is small compared to her siblings.

How much should she be eating? I don't know what size/amount of food is good for a snake her size?

[guidofatherof5]

Zara is looking good.

[xStatic]

Zara is looking good.

Good to hear. As long as her small sign doesn't mean she's unhealthy then I'm not worried about how quickly I can get her to grow. I just want her to be healthy. Tonight I will feed her a day old pink sliced vertically into two pieces so it's easier to swallow. If she eats that easily I'll start offering a day old pink every week...

[guidofatherof5]

Day old pinky? Meaning it's 1 day old or it's been thawed out for 1 day?

[xStatic]

Day old pinky? Meaning it's 1 day old or it's been thawed out for 1 day?

A pinky which was culled and frozen during it's first day of life. I thaw the mice immediately before serving to the snakes (:

[guidofatherof5]

[QUOTE=xStatic;219082]

Day old pinky? Meaning it's 1 day old or it's been thawed out for 1 day?[/QUOTE

A pinky which was culled and frozen during it's first day of life. I thaw then immediately before serving to the snakes (:

Thanks for the clarification.

I also think you could feed a little more food. Young snakes are growing machines and need the fuel.

[xStatic]

[QUOTE=guidofatherof5;219084]

Thanks for the clarification.

I also think you could feed a little more food. Young snakes are growing machines and need the fuel.

Sounds good. Should I try to add another half a pinky or earthworms? She's never eaten Tilapia before but I could try adding that to her meals.