Stunted Snakes?

[Learning Everyday]

I recently got a california king snake from my cousin. My cousin caught it as a baby in spring over 2 1/2 years ago. He has no knowledge of snakes and if it was lucky it got a meal a month. It was kept in terrible conditions but that is besides the point. The thing is that it is only 22 inches long... Correct me if I am wrong but for that age it's incredibly small! It has decent muscle mass and seems like a pretty healthy 10-12 month old. I had looked him over a few months ago and I was sure he was going to starve to death. Has it's body switched from growing long to just trying to stay alive to conserve energy? My freind's rescued savannah seems to be the same way. Is it possible it will be stunted for the rest of it's life? Thanks!

[dkspftw]

I've heard several people on here mention that their BPs shot up hugely in size after either being improperly fed or going on an extended hunger strike.

So I can't say for sure, but I'd expect a growth spurt once you get some proper meals in that guy.

[bcr229]

If fed properly you should see a decent growth spurt. Also, many people overfeed their kings, corns, milks, etc. as unlike BP's most colubrids are little garbage disposals.