Measuring your snake?

[TheMadLeper]

My girl bp is starting to get pretty big, i wanna see how big she has gotten. But i have no idea how to go about measuring her length. I tried laying her by a ruler but that was an exercise in futility. How do the rest of you out there measure your snake?

[sg1trogdor]

go to the downloads section on this site and get snake measurer. works pretty good.

[BMorrison]

I measure Furio's length by his sheds.

[TooManyToys]

Old trick, use a piece of string and run it down the length of her spine. Mark the end and measure. Very easy.

[starmom]

Hmmm, I've never even thought to measure my snakes (I weigh them) though I think that measuring their sheds is a pretty easy solution

[Argentra]

Yep, I measure the sheds. Just remember to subtract about 4" for stretching.

That, putting them through a stiff tube, or using the program are the ways to go about it.

Best way to determine growth, though, is to weigh them.

[starmom]

Oh, good info about the stretching Adriana. Thanks!!

[Jerhart]

Yep, I measure the sheds. Just remember to subtract about 4" for stretching.

That, putting them through a stiff tube, or using the program are the ways to go about it.

Best way to determine growth, though, is to weigh them.

So is the total length of the snake the length of the shed? Or the length of the shed minus 4" (or a certain %, as a ringneck youd subtract less...while a retic would be way more)?

I ask this because I have heard that in order to get an 'accurate' measurement on a snake...you have to measure it once it has died. ...I know crazy, but it's because once the snake has passed, his/her muscles are no longer contracted...thus the snake is an extra x" than when it was living. Does this make sense? Has anyone else ever heard of this?

[Argentra]

The APPROXIMATE length of the snake is the shed minus 4". As far as I know, this is the rule with any snake, since the basic amount of stretch tends to be 4" no matter what. Of course, this is only an estimated length since an exact length would only be obtained when the snake was no longer moving...such as in death. Sad, but true.

And you're welcome, Starmom. I pass on what I have learned.

[Jerhart]

The APPROXIMATE length of the snake is the shed minus 4". As far as I know, this is the rule with any snake, since the basic amount of stretch tends to be 4" no matter what. Of course, this is only an estimated length since an exact length would only be obtained when the snake was no longer moving...such as in death. Sad, but true.

And you're welcome, Starmom. I pass on what I have learned.

So a 6" ringneck will leave a 10" shed? That shed is almost 170% the length of the ringneck. And if a 20' retic left you a 20'-4" shed...that shed is only 101.5% the length of the snake...a 1.5% diff. vs. the 70% diff with the ringneck.... I duno if this is right


But if it is...and you under stand that chicken scratch above...do you see why the 4" rule may not be very accurate?

Or its very possible I am just wrong, and the 4" rule is what it is!