What Science has Wrought!

[Shiari]

Here's some data compilations from the submissions we've gotten

156 individuals submitted so far
108 are 2 years old or older

83 (77%) of those snakes 2+ years old have fallen between 200 and 500 grams.

21 snakes that are 2+ years old have been above 500 grams (19%), of these 12 have have been overweight (BCS 7-9/9) (57%).

8 snakes were over 700 grams, of these 7 have been overweight (88%).

65 snakes 2+ years old (60%) were identified as being in an 'acceptable' body condition (BCS 4-6/9).

1 snake over 500 grams has been underweight (BCS 1-3/9) (6%) and was 66 inches long.

35 snakes were 50 inches or longer (32% of those 2+ years old).

13 snakes were 55 inches or longer (12% of those 2+ years old).

6 snakes were 60 inches or longer (5% of those 2+ years old).

The longest snake submitted was 66 inches long.

The majority of snakes identified as being in an 'acceptable' body condition (BCS 4-6/9) have had a head length (nose tip to point of the jaw) to mid-body width (as measured from above) ratio between 0.7 and 0.85.

The majority of snakes identified as being overweight (BCS 7-9/9) have had a head length to mid-body width ratio of 0.9 and above.

I'm sending out an email this week to my local reptile specialist to see what recommendations they may have for application of this data towards corn snake husbandry in general.

 

[crackerhead]

Cool information!
How is the data collected? The weight is pretty straight forward but what is the standardized means for length measurement? BCS done by an untrained individual is a bit of a crap shoot. Even within the medical field, the BCS of a snake by a practitioner that doesn't do it regularly would be suspect.
Hobbyist frequently see a morbidly obese snake and think it's in good condition but if a necropsy is performed one finds massive fat deposits throughout the body. Did you give standardized directions for determining BCS and maybe collect photos of videos as well?
Fun/useful project. I'll be sure to follow your efforts.
Thanks,
Terri

 

[Shiari]

We had people submit age, weight, and a photo of the entire snake from above next to a ruler. Length was measured on the submitted photos using the serpwidgets measuring tool.

BCS was determined by me visually, partially utilizing my experience as an RVT (worked 3 years under a reptile vet), partially comparing to my own snakes that were identified as being bcs 5/9 by their reptile vets and where necropsies on the few animals I've lost (egg binding, intestinal perf, cat attack) showed no excessive internal fat deposits, and based on general proportions and rate of taper. I did try to be a mix of conservative and generous on my scoring (limiting 9/9 to those with external fat deposits, using a bcs of 6/9 when I was uncertain if the snake was actually a 5 that was recently fed/needed to defecate) which is why I have them listed in 3 sets. BCS 1-3/9 is underweight. BCS 4-6/9 is 'acceptable'. BCS 7-9/9 is overweight/obese.

Part of what this aimed to do was find a standard way for new keepers to help determine BCS. And that's where the head:midbody ratio comes in. The length of a corn snake's head should *always* be longer than the body is wide. I measured the midline of the head from the tip of the nose to the point of the jaws, which seems to be 2 or 3 scales past the large head scales. Then you measure across the middle of the body of the snake. Divide the body width by head length and that number should fall between 0.7 and 0.85 for an adult. If it is over 0.8 it's often getting 'iffy' but can still be in the acceptable range. If it's 0.9 or higher, it is for sure overweight. If you have an 'acceptable' head to midbody ratio, but the taper seems rapid then if measure at the 3/4 point down the body and it's nearly the same to larger than the mid-body, you know that the snake either needs to defecate or it is building up those internal fat deposits and action should be taken.