Anyone Know the Answer to this Trivia Question on Snake Skin???

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Originally Posted by dr del

Hi,

I would have said B?


dr del

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Thanks for the guess, but it's looking like A or C from my best estimate at this time since I haven't used the snake measurement app yet that mainbutter suggested above.

I keep my BRBs on cypress.

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Originally Posted by Docile1

It does infact appear to be A (same length), but your explanation seems to indicate you would have chosen B (longer). Thanks for guessing!

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Lol yeah that's what he meant . See this is what happens when you let the man type the answer lmao ..... Just kidding!

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Originally Posted by ScottNBecky

Lol yeah that's what he meant . See this is what happens when you let the man type the answer lmao ..... Just kidding!

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See this is what happens when you share an account with your girlfriend lmao ..... Just kidding!

In general the shed skin is longer. The scales that normally overlap are separated by the loose skin that joins them but is hidden between the scales unless the snake is eating, shedding or gravid. Add that small amount a hundred or more times and you can easily increase length 4 to 8 inches per foot of skin.

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Originally Posted by ScottNBecky

See this is what happens when you share an account with your girlfriend lmao ..... Just kidding!

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Thanks ... You guys are cute! :P

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Originally Posted by wilomn

In general the shed skin is longer. The scales that normally overlap are separated by the loose skin that joins them but is hidden between the scales unless the snake is eating, shedding or gravid. Add that small amount a hundred or more times and you can easily increase length 4 to 8 inches per foot of skin.

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Cool! ... Thanks for the very interesting answer. ;)

Since I was very careful not to stretch the shedded skin while unrolling it, it appeared that it was the same length or perhaps even a bit shorter.

Just out of curiosity, do your bp's shed with or without rolling up their shed? And, might this question make an interesting poll question?

The answer is C because it covers less surface area

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Originally Posted by EvesFriend

The answer is C because it covers less surface area

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Not sure that makes sense, especially when considering Wilomn's answer above. So I think B is probably more likely, but thanks for your answer! :)

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Originally Posted by wilomn

In general the shed skin is longer. The scales that normally overlap are separated by the loose skin that joins them but is hidden between the scales unless the snake is eating, shedding or gravid. Add that small amount a hundred or more times and you can easily increase length 4 to 8 inches per foot of skin.

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Well, it's official ... it does indeed appear that the answer is B: Longer.

I recently checked the answer in The New Encyclopedia of Snakes by Chris Mattison and in the section: Morphology & Function, on page 35, he states that "Shed skins are appreciably longer than the snakes from which they have come away, by up to 20 percent."

Btw, this book, published in 2007, is really nice and worth checking out! ... lots of good, (and according to the author) credible information put together in a great format with lots of high quality pictures.