Eastern Worm snake record

[NJSnakeMan]

http://www.fieldherpers.com//view.php?site=fieldherpers&bn=fieldherpers_fieldherping&key=1131418184

At the time i didn't notice how big the worm snake really was, but now after finding 3 more, much much smaller- i decided to measure the shed i had from the big one, turns out to be a record breaker!

 

[uuglypher]

shed skin does not reflect a record

http://www.fieldherpers.com//view.php?site=fieldherpers&bn=fieldherpers_fieldherping&key=1131418184

At the time i didn't notice how big the worm snake really was, but now after finding 3 more, much much smaller- i decided to measure the shed i had from the big one, turns out to be a record breaker!

A shed skin is typically from 20% to 25% longer than the snake that shed it (due to the skin between the overlapped scales being added to the length of the skin as it is stretched during the shedding process). This is why shed (and "skinned" skins) are not accepted for establishment of accurate length of the living snake for recording purposes. I suspect that the record length of a live worm snake remains a bit over 13 inches.

I remember one May finding an intact 33-inch shed skin of a copperhead and thinking that was longer than any copperhead I'd ever caught at that den. Examination of the caudal scutes (on the underside of the tail of the shed skin) revealed it to be one I had marked and measured the previous autumn - when its live length was 28". The subsequent September it was caught again and had added only 1/2" to its length.

An anecdote deserves to be told; when I first recorded the clipped code on the tail scutes of that big shed skin and checked my record book, the scale clip-code matched that of a yearling copperhead of the previous year - until I caught on that the skin was inside-out ... yeah ... well ... we can't ALL be a "quick study" !!

Dave

 

[Krloucks]

Worm Snakes

I've have probably found close to 500 worm snakes, none of which were ever over 10 inches, though I presume a record breaker may be out there. somewhere. But to echo the last post, one can never judge a length of a snake by it's shed skin. One of my 6 1/2ft boas just produced a skin that was nearly 8 ft long just after she shed! It dried to a length of just over 7ft and will be displayed at my daughter's pre school for the kids to ooo and ahh over.
Kyle