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A survey for all!

S

snakesurvey2016

New member
Hello fellow snake lovers!
First off let me introduce myself. I am a current third year veterinary student at the Royal Dick school for Veterinary studies located In Edinburgh Scotland, and I have a research project to do!
Why does this concern you? Because I want you (actually your snakes) to be a part of it. All I am asking is for you to take a couple measurements and answer a few questions about your snakes. A link to my survey is provided below along with a quick summary of my project.

Survey link: https://www.surveymonkey.co.uk/r/6ZJ33GL

Project Summary
I propose a simple answer the most commonly asked question that every new snake owner has, My snake is X length and Y weight, is this ok?
Through the use of owner surveys and in clinic patient measurements, my goal is to compile a range of weight and length measurements into an easy to use chart that acts as a basic indicator of how close or far away from average their pet snake is. Additional data such as girth, sex, age, and origin (captive or wild caught) will also be compiled for completeness.
Due to project time constraints I have chosen to narrow my project to the most commonly kept species, Pantherophis guttatus and the ball python (Python regius).
Depending on how successful I am in collecting data there is possibility of this becoming my own pet project and expanding it to other species as well. Of course the finished project will be shared with all those who are interested.

Alternately if you have multiple snakes you can submit your responses to [email protected]

I am especially interested in hatchling up to two years old as that is where most of the growing is done, If you are a breeder I would love multiple measurements off of growing clutches.
 
First of all, welcome to the forum. I do hope you will stick around and read current and past posts about corn snake husbandry here. There is a wealth of information if you want to learn more about the species in general and about how we actually care for our snakes in captivity.

There is a great need for reptile vets and I hope that you are considering becoming a reptile vet.

I do have a question and that is now do you propose getting the girth? I'm not sure I can get an accurate measurement, or any measurement at all of that on my juvenile female. I can't see her tolerating my holding a tape measure around her. I certainly can get weight as that's easy and I weigh her and her prey, regularly. Length is more problematic and most of us here use a web based estimator called Serpwidgets Snake Measurer to get an idea. If that is acceptable I will try to get the best measurements I can after she sheds.

Best wishes. Your project sounds interesting. It would be nice if you come back here and share your results.
 
DollysMom said:
First of all, welcome to the forum. I do hope you will stick around and read current and past posts about corn snake husbandry here. There is a wealth of information if you want to learn more about the species in general and about how we actually care for our snakes in captivity.

There is a great need for reptile vets and I hope that you are considering becoming a reptile vet.

I do have a question and that is now do you propose getting the girth? I'm not sure I can get an accurate measurement, or any measurement at all of that on my juvenile female. I can't see her tolerating my holding a tape measure around her. I certainly can get weight as that's easy and I weigh her and her prey, regularly. Length is more problematic and most of us here use a web based estimator called Serpwidgets Snake Measurer to get an idea. If that is acceptable I will try to get the best measurements I can after she sheds.

Best wishes. Your project sounds interesting. It would be nice if you come back here and share your results.
Click to expand...

I've never attempted to check the girth of a snake before but did have a trick to get good measurements off of people I was making jewelry for, that would probably work decently with a snake.
Take a piece of string, wrap it around the widest section of the snake and then either hold your fingers at the point that the string met around the snake, or if you can, mark that spot with a marker. Then you can lay out the string along a ruler and get the measurement without having to try to read numbers while dealing with a wiggling snake.
 
DollysMom, it's very simple actually.

Take a soft piece of string or thread. wrap it around the snake's biggest section. Pull the string snug but do not pull tight. Mark the string with your fingernail and snip it it off. Lay the string down and measure it with a tape measure.

I just did Rufus. And took the survey. For what it's worth he measures just over 3 inches at his biggest point.
 
@DollysMom, measuring with a soft non stretchable string is the ideal way to get a length and girth. The girth data may not be used but was suggested as a point to collect by my project advisor.

Thank you to those who are participating! and I will for sure keep updates on the progress of my project.
 
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