Reptile & Amphibian Forums

i got my corn two months ago at about 40 inches. she "went pale" aug 1 and then shed. i noticed her o pale again yesterday(aug 30). can you judge age by that? also the owner said she was about 2 and a half years old but i dont think he knew what he was doing because he said that she is about one mouse a month. i dont know how much she wieghed when i got her but she weighs 290 now.
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my addiction:
2 normal ball pythons (lazlo and izzy)
1 amelenistic corn snake (mazy)

...maturity level, injuries, breeding season, and amount of growth (related to amount fed).

A snake which is still in a major growth phase will shed much more often than one which is 'full grown'. (Snakes never quite stop growing, but they will slow down sharply as adults.)

A snake which is injured or sometimes ill will shed more often as the snake tries to heal the injury.

Breeding season brings about timed sheds in adults. Females will shed before becoming receptive, before laying, and after laying. Males will typically shed after coming out of brumation as well.

Amount of growth -- this is somewhat related to the first response. A snake which is growing alot will shed more often than one which isn't growing much. A young snake fed very little (like it sounds yours was previously) will not grow fast and will not shed as often. Once you start feeding it more often, it will grow faster and shed more often.

I've also noticed that if you feed snakes after a period (atleast a month) of non-feeding, they will often go into shed. I've mostly seen this around brumation time... the only difference is, with this shed nobody is ready to breed yet.

-Kat
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"You keep WHAT in your freezer?"
"Mice. And rats. If that bothers you, I can call them 'cows' instead."

Case and point, I have a ball python that has shed on 6/23, and again on 8/28....I have another ball python that shed on 8/4, and will be shedding again in the next week. only thing you can really do is compare the snake to others and guestimate an appox age.

Chris
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0.2.0 Grey Rats-Lauren, Avril
1.2.0 Black Rats- Robert, Cady, Kylie
1.2.0 Albino FL Kings-Nick, Jessica, Ashley
1.1.0 Crimson Corns-Kane, Ruby
0.1.0 Het-Crimson Corns-Lola
0.1.0 White-Sided/Pos Het Albino Black Rat-Lita
1.0.0 Albino White-sided Black Rat-Rey
0.1.0 Fl King-Bonnie
1.0.0 Biak GTP-Brandon
1.0.0 Flame X Blood Bearded-Ruff
1.2.0 Ball Pythons-Donnie, Gretchen, Alexis
0.1.0 Red-tail Boa-Xena
0.0.1 Savannah Monitor-Izzy

the corners of all her belly scales keep on getting chipped, does that count as an injurie?
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my addiction:
2 normal ball pythons (lazlo and izzy)
1 amelenistic corn snake (mazy)