Lifted scales?

[Pythonfriend]

thats the reason why a shed is so much longer than the snake that produced it (sometimes double length).

i would freak out if it would affect the whole body.

but if its localized to regions on one side, then i would say the reason is mechanical, so, natural wear and tear from trying to climb or something. totally natural, thats what the scales are for, humans may cling on to something with their fingernails (often figuratively, sometimes literally, and if our nails get damaged they grow back). snakes have hundreds of scales for that, and movement patterns to make it more efficient. BPs can get quite far on a vertical tree with a really big trunk, where they can only work with the roughness and structure of the bark. and shedding is the repair process that keeps these structures in top condition as the snake gets older.


another thing i noticed: its 4 lifted scales, then around 12 normal scales, then 4 lifted scales, then around 12 normal scales, then 4 lifted scales. now that is interesting. i guess it has to do with the movement pattern they use to go straight forward. anyway, the pattern is too ordered to be just a coincidence, it screams "look at me im not random", it proves that its a mechanical thing. no disease or pathogen would produce such a special pattern. but climbing, or going through a tight opening that has a rough spot on one side, totally explains the pattern.

also, a bend from coiling up is out, due to the weird 4-12-4-12-4 pattern. human analogy: kid came home from play with a broken fingernail.