Draco Update

[bigsnakegirl78]

Hey bigsnakegirl78, snakes have what is known as "indeterminate growth". So they never stop growing but once they reach maturity the growth rate slows down. It slows even more the older they get but never really ceases. Peace.

I'm dubious on that, I've seen no proof of it and my ball python hasn't grown even half an inch in 5-6 years. He's almost 9 years old. Sheds do not necessarily indicate growth, either.

As far as an update, he is now taking both pinks from the tweezers and is now 20-21 grams. No shed yet but I should be expecting one soon. It's so hard to tell when he's in shed, he almost always looks milky in low light and looks normal in the sun, but I've had him shed despite that before.

[Albert Clark]

I went to Wikipedia for some of the documentation to support the "indeterminate growth" phenomena in reptiles. Even though it is not readily apparent in some of our captives it is a factual occurrence. Reptiles do indeed have "indeterminate growth ". It's well documented in other literature also.

[drumcrush]

I would not trust Wikipedia. It's still debated, I would not say it's 100% confirmed. I personally do not believe in indeterminate growth.

[ObsidianDragon]

Even Dart's hard to tell when he's in shed, and he's not an albino! Tricky buggers.

[bigsnakegirl78]

Here are some updated pics! He now weighs 26 grams, and the last couple of times I've handled him, he's been calmer in my hand.

IMG_1202.jpgIMG_1203.jpgIMG_1204.jpgIMG_1206.jpgIMG_0872.jpg

[RicMartin]

Great snake!

[guidofatherof5]

Nice looking albino T. marcianus - Checkered Garter

[joeysgreen]

I missed this note on indeterminate growth in reptiles. It is discussed in Herpetology by Vitt and Caldwell. Reptiles do have indeterminate growth, however it is not as clear cut obvious as one might first think by scanning what that means.

Ian

[bigsnakegirl78]

Are there any peer-reviewed reports of this? I'm not going to trust a book on a scientific point, it's very easy to write misinformation in them.

Unless there have been *many* peer-reviewed studies on the subject, I will remain dubious. A few studies don't always show you if something is true, as they could have been biased, or could have been carried out incorrectly in some other way. Shedding =/= growth, which is the most common reason I hear people say they believe in indeterminate growth. They shed their skin to make room for new, healthy skin cells, just like people.

[joeysgreen]

If you read this book you might change your mind. It is a text book used by those learning how to do the studies that are then peer-reviewed. Peer-reviewed studies are considered primary literature. This type of book is secondary literature, which essentially sums up what is known from the primary literature so you don't have to read the thousands of papers in the hundreds of journals around the world. So it's not just someone writing what they think they know on a topic... it's all directly from the peer-reviewed/primary literature. To visualize this, the bibliography or listing of all the peer-reviewed references used in the book is 98 pages long.

Ian