Size does matter... for newbies

Newbie here ---

Has anyone ever considered uniformly including a snake's length and weight in the classified ads??? It would be great for me as a new soon to be owner, since pictures are great but don't have a relative scale to them?

I almost always include weight in my ads, but not always length because it's more work for me to get an accurate length than it is to weigh them. You can always send the seller a message asking for more specific details.

I'll gladly put a snake on a scale if anyone asks, but I'd sooner lose a sale than stretch one out and try to get a length. That's just not information you need if you have its mass and a photo, and it would be very hard on the animal, with a few ultra calm exceptions. I always include a hatch date and at least one photo, you can tell pretty easily a snake's age and size by its development once you've studied a few. Note the difference in the head and body bulk of these.
Hatchling 5 grams:

In a few short weeks at 15 grams, note how less "fragile" the head looks, and how the eye is smaller comparatively:

By 30 grams in size, pigment is coming in, and the body begins developing musculature.

By 150 grams in size, the snake no longer has "baby features" and is taking on the build and coloration of an adult:


Hope this helps! Also, I feel sure most sellers wouldn't mind photographing the snake by a dollar bill or something of known size.

Chip, you can sell me that snow now

Thanks a bunch for the info, opinions and pictures. I guess I am having a difficult time discerning size and weight from a picture. I like the idea of taking a picture with something of known size like a dime, quarter, dollar bill as a reference.
Maybe just include weight and estimate of size... since I wouldn't want to stress out a snake for a sale... Got it!

Namaste,

Originally Posted by frostgfx

Newbie here ---

Has anyone ever considered uniformly including a snake's length and weight in the classified ads??? It would be great for me as a new soon to be owner, since pictures are great but don't have a relative scale to them?

Hey Frost, I think you'll find that most good breeders will provide this info when requested. On the other hand there are some that just don't have the time or don't care to be bothered. lol
One alernative to stretching the snake out would be to ask them to measure the shed skin. I'd say that's the easiest route to go..

Great idea... I was just throwing out the idea about size for newbies like myself... and of course I would ask my source for lots of info since this is my first snake.

Namaste,

I just use serpwidgets for measuring length. I think it's quite accurate and much easier than trying to measure a wiggly snake. But it still takes some time because I have to take a photo, resize the photo, and then upload it before I even use the measuring tool.

Hi frostgfx. Age, weight, sex if determined, and a photo should give the basics. Shed, feeding, defecation, and behavior notes complete the picture. While length is interesting, it just isn't that important. Proportion, as in the loaf of bread shape in imagined crossection, is more important than length.

I was able to see my snake before purchase, but because I got him at a pet store I don't even know his exact age or his sex. I also didn't get records other than a casual "was fed a pinky once a week" on Thursdays. So even without seeing the length, but by going to a breeder, you will have a lot more info than I have.

If you do have trouble correlating the very good pictures in the thread to actual snake size, then go to one of the big box pet stores and just look at the baby corns. It will give you a good idea of just how little the babies are.

And they grow fast. I've had mine for just under 6 weeks. He has had a shed and and he looks a lot longer. Whatever length you get as a baby, I guarantee will be longer soon.

Originally Posted by DuxorW

Chip, you can sell me that snow now

<muscles DuxorW out of the way> OoohOooh, me, me!

Seriously, will you be offering Bubblegums like that this season?