Reptile & Amphibian Forums

It's getting buried, so I thought I would bring it back to the top. =)

I know this may sound absurd.... but how on earth do you folks measure your snakes' weights in grams... is there a commercially available scale? (not too expensive) that can be used to make these measurements? I have a small scale that measures in grams, but only up to a pound or so.

I would love to be able to add better data to my own pitiful databank. Especially now that it seems likely that my cal king might double clutch (?!?) She seems "heavy" and "twice as big around" but as was pointed out below... these are NOT scientific terms. It would also be interesting to have a gram scale as I have a couple of '02 snakes I might want to breed next year, but i'm not sure they'll be up to snuff, so I want to be sure that they at least meet the minimum requirement size/weight wise in addition to my own non-scientific summation of how the snake looks.

Truthfully, on the issue of egg-binding, I hope that I never ever have to deal with it. I want my snakes to always be healthy and happy.
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~Sasheena
Ground Snakes
Kit, Kaboodle, Tantilla, Tantillas, Lightning, Kinkee, Maple
JCP
Dreamer
Rosy
Castle
Kings
Licorice, Bishop, Queenie, Jester, Tigris, Euphrates
Pandora, Phantom
Lady
Corns
Aphrodite, Athena, Hermes
Tiger
Amulet

You can actually find inexpensive digital scales that will measure in metric at places like wal-mart, etc, but most of those are junk. They have pitiful accuracy standards (like plus or minus 5 grams on a 1 gram scale). You may have to read the find print to discover the accuracy, but it is worth the time investment.

I have a Tanita scale that I bought online after doing some research. It is extremely accurate compared to other similar scales I have used. It is as accurate as the Ohaus scales I have used, but it cost about 1/3 the price of an Ohaus scale. (I recently measured it's accuracy using some precalibrated brass weight standards that I had checked against a very accurate milligram scale. My Tanita got every one correct.)

Search online for Tanita scales, you will find plenty. You could go with a triple beam balance, but they are a pain, especially with squirming snakes.

Some things to look for -

1) You probably don't need to know the weight of animals/food to the nearest 0.1 gram. I have a scale that measures to the nearest 2g, and it works fine.

2) Consider the mass of the largest animal you want to measure on it. A big Ball Python can weigh over 4kg, while a big cal king probably wouldn't ever exceed 1kg. But you have to remember the mass of the weighing container as well (a 5 gal plastic bucket weighs 300-400 grams empty).

3) get as large a weighing platform as you can afford. I have a 7x7" stainless steel platform that is great. Bigger would be ok, but smaller can be a pain if you are trying to balance a bucket with an unruly snake inside. Also a removal, washable cover is a godsend, especially if you plan to weigh food items.

4) Make sure you can get an AC adaptor for your scale.

5) make sure you can tare the scale. Some cheap ones don't let you do this.

6) bigger buttons and an easy to read digital readout can make measuring a lot of things easier

Why do this? So you can see pattern like this after a few years....
This graph shows the difference between buying wild caught vs captive born sand boas. It is based on monthly weight records for four snakes for 4 years.

I have learned a tremendous amount about growth, feeding and health of my animals over the years by keeping monthly weights.
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Chris Harrison