Reptile & Amphibian Forums

My corn snake recently shed and since I didn't know the exact length my snake was...i measured the shed skin and it was 20". What I am wondering, is does the skin stretch out when shed? Basically trying to figure out if the shed skin is a good indicator of the length of the actual snake.

think..........

it goes over each scale and halfway under each scale...it is alot longer than the snake is.........

..........just lay it on a yardstick.........

(te snake).........

JY

The skins, I've read, are anywhere up to 10% longer than the snake. I use them for ballpark figures, but anything more exact is impossible. Weighing is a better way to measure a snake than length, I think. It eliminates the wiggle factor.
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Peter: It's OK, I'll handle it. I read a book about something like this.
Brian: Are you sure it was a book? Are you sure it wasn't NOTHING?

Shed skins give you no indication of length. They are useful however for purposes of comparison. I keep skins from my animals when they come out perfect, and I compare them to later skins that also come out perfect, and that way I can sort of gauge their growth. The best way to measure a snake, to me, is to just watch it crawling around the cage, and as they line themselves up along the edges and around corners, notice their body length and where they stop/start. You can usually use a measuring tape or whatever to measure the cage. Otherwise, I agree. Just use bodyweight, because length is really impossible to determine accurately on such wriggly animals.

--Naamah

Thanks for the advice. I had a feeling the skin would be longer than the actual snake. However, not easy to measure the snake as he won't sit still. I doubt he would let me weigh him without crawling off the scale. Will give that a try tomorrow, just fed him last night, so don't want to stress him tonight by trying to weigh him.

Actually, a good way to measure him would be to put him in a container that he can't escape from, then measure him in the container and then measure the container without him in it.
His weight is the combined weight minus the weight of the container alone. Hope this helps
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