Growth between sheds

[slickshadowrunner]

Hey all,

So I've now had my 2011 normal for three months. When I first got her, she was somewhat underfed (not starving, but definitely underfed - her previous owner fed her a small rat every three weeks). I feed her mediums weekly (when she takes them). She has now shed for me twice, eight weeks apart, which seems short to me. I was under the impression it was usually 10 to 12 weeks between sheds. That being said, I noted (as I kept the last shed skin) that her new shed skin is a good six inches longer then her last one. Is it possible she grew six inches over a two month period? She is now 1846 grams and looks great in her new skin. She was really crabby for the past month though. Is it possible that she was growing really fast and therefore really uncomfortable in a steadily more and more uncomfortable tight skin?

[Zach Cedor]

Remember sheds can stretch and are not an accurate way of determining a snakes exact length

[LLLReptile]

Yep, like Zach said, the skins often stretch.

The snake is probably experiencing a growth spurt after being somewhat underfed, resulting in the short time span between shed cycles. It is unlikely that your snake grew 6" that quickly.

-Jen