Measured Neptune's last shed

Neptune just shed today/last night, a nice long perfect shed. I haven't had a chance to actually measure him in a long time, especially since he's not particularly cooperative, but this shed measured almost exactly 9ft long! He sheds just about every month, and last time we measured a perfect shed of his it was a lot closer to 8ft.

The boy is still growin! :O I know sheds aren't the most accurate method of measuring, but it helps get an idea. Neptune is a big boy!

Wow! 9 feet?! That's one hell of a long snake. Whats the max they grow?

The biggest beauty I've heard of was around 11 to 12 feet, I think!

Sheds are going to measure longer than the actual snake (since the shed stretches, and the folds of the scales unfold)

but still.. 9' is big!

Oh yeah, I know that it's a bit stretched and inaccurate, but yeah... still! :) And considering he sheds about every month, and comparing this shed to the last perfect shed I measured is almost a foot in difference... he's growing!

Plus he's being so calm and well behaved too. :love: He just needed some of his own space and to feel safe. Still nervous about being touched, but very calm about my just being near him where he used to strike at everything, poor darling. I couldn't be more glad I got this pair, even though I was intimidated by him at first. The whole experience has been so rewarding... and he needed a different more gentle environment badly.

Awww he's coming along so well. Just like our BP Brannagh he just needed a home environment where he as cared for appropriately, handled with care and given the space and quiet he needed to calm down. Good for you two, you've done a wonderful job with all your snakes!

there's a really nice program here on the site in the downloads section that you can use to measure them. All you have to do is take a picture of them with a ruler or some onbject of known length in the shot. Make sure the snake is flat on the floor and the picture is from directly above. the snake doesnt have to be straight though. You click on both ends of the ruler, then you click and "connect the dots" down the back of the snake. It's a really nice setup. If you decide to try it and need any help feel free to pm me.

Thanks Jo! He's actually pretty mad again because I just put him back in with Ma-tsu for breeding last night and he was all cozy in his own pad. Then he went and pooed, and I had to take him in and out and this morning Ma-tsu pooed so AGAIN I had to take him in and out. The Neptune is displeased!

And I have downloaded that program for measuring before, but have never gotten around to trying to use it. Largely because at over 8ft and being very squirmy and curious, it's very very hard to get the pic needed for it. :P I should try it out with the little snakes for practice though, then try Ma-tsu and eventually try and get a shot of Neptune from above. If I can get the shots, and have trouble figuring it out, I'll be sure to ask you for a hand though, thank you! :)

I have actually handled a blue that was about 11.5 which was the biggest rat snake I have ever seen. He was about a big around as my forearm and gentle as a lamb.

I have seen a Taiwan male that was over 10 but he was hard to handle. I had to use a hook to handle him, real nasty dude but also very beautiful.

More typical is in the 9 foot range. MO's guy with a 9 foot shed is probally about 8 foot 4 to 8 foot 6 based on that shed. I would bet if well fed Neptune will hit 9 easy.

Over all they are long snakes but not big around. Most are about the girth of say a coke can at full maturity. What they are is fast and a 9 footer can raise up 3 feet to check stuff out. They are just one of the coolest of all sankes if I do say so.

I have a pair of Taiwan 05s that are 5 feet in length and growing well. But I have my super steriod popping new boy who was born in June this year. I am tied of thinking of snake names so I named him Tai and he is over 4 feet at only 6 months!

I think he may have the potential to be a 10 footer.

Congrats MO and don't give up and getting that boy of yours to be as nice to you as Matsu is. It takes patience when they are not handled as babies but in time they get petty easy to handle,

Oh and MO best way to get a full body shot of a big Asian snake or any snake is get a clear wall, let the snake crawl against it, they tend to stretch out that way and give you a good chance for a full body shot that is easy to measure with the program.

Cept with Neptune it might really be a chore to pick him back up,

I wouldn't be at all surprised if Neptune hits 9. :) And thank you! I'll have to update Blue Gorgon again as far as size goes, it helps to get as much imput as possible from others who have experience with these snakes. It's hard to find information! I really appreciate your experience and advice with these snakes, as I'm still getting started and working hard to spread the love. And naturally I agree... Beauties rock!

I'll have to try that picture taking trick with my beauties! But probably not till we have our snake room. At least where Neptune is concerned, because he can be such a butt sometimes. He's tamed down considerably from where he was when we first brought him home! Breaks my heart that beauties have such a bad rep when all they really need is TLC from the get go. I'm really proud of Neptune, who is staring at me right now all cute. I look forward to having a whole mess of these guys eventually. My wish list keeps growing!

Here's a couple of recent pics of my pair I've been meaning to post. First, Neptune! You can see the little scar on his nose, his previous owner gave him live medium sized rats every other week, and I don't think that helped his disposition. He looks like he's been bit other places too.

http://pics.livejournal.com/medusasowl/pic/000hc8hx

Ma-tsu misted down pre-shed, her royal gorgeousness.

http://pics.livejournal.com/medusasowl/pic/000hbfxd

And after! She did have a little trouble with this shed, the heater dries out our home in the winter more than usual, so this is her sitting in a moist pillow case on my lap. :love: SO cute...

http://pics.livejournal.com/medusasowl/pic/000hazdp

Also, Tai is a great name! And I demand more beauty pics out of you! :P

I actually have a blast naming pets. To the point where I'll name them long before I'm able to get my talons on them. I already want to name my female trinket snake Tulsi or Shanti, and it'll be a while before I can convince the Mrs to let me have a pair! We get the hatchling rack, then only the snakes we produce till we move and I have my snake room. Then all bets are off! :devilish: