Measuring your snake?

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?

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

I measure Furio's length by his sheds.

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

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 :gj:

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.

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

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Originally Posted by 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.

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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. :tears: ...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? :confused:

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. :D I pass on what I have learned.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by 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. :D I pass on what I have learned.

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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 :confused:


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! :P:bow::gj:

:D Those are great points, and may be correct. Basically, the 4" "rule" was created through observation and time. The only way to be sure would be to have a snake die that recently shed, then you could compare the two.

I believe a factor of the 4" thing was that they were measuring the snake in a tube or by letting it hang down, then comparing that to the shed length. Not sure, tho.

XD well, the snake measurer is fun..! And seems to work. I used it on all of my snakes...the results:

Laura Croft: (unknown age, unknown origins normal rescue, found outside) 1550g 49.61 inches

Draccy: (Unknown age, supposedly an 03 normal, but very small) 1300g 44.54 inches

Matika: (04 normal female, raised by me) 2200g 49.56 inches, but I've previously measured her at 53 inches. Perhaps I was wrong?

Chocobo: (07 pastel male, raised by me, produced by Charles Glaspie) 570g and 37.9 inches. Seems a little bit long, but my hand was shaking, so I probably measured a bit long.

Just thought I'd share my results...Matika's seems small, and Draccy and Chocobo's seem long, but maybe that's just my opinion. Someone else try and see what you get! (Lady Fortuna didn't get bothered since she's still in quarantine and is getting a few weeks of being left alone)

:) Well, like people snakes can be short and stocky or long and lanky. It differs from snake to snake. That's why length is just something to note maybe when looking for a new enclosure, but weight is the more widely accepted indicator of health and general age.

I like that string idea, much better then balancing a tape measurer over her...Thanks Jim