Shedding rate reasonable?

My reptilian aliens that lactate become adults at 20 years old. I might add a graph here of proposed shedding rates over time and maybe even a separate graph for growth.

But here is what I am proposing for the shedding rates:

Hatchling: 0-3 months

Shedding once every few days to a week because growth rate is fast. Less shedding if sleep schedule happens to change from what it was when the alien hatched due to milk proteins changing the circadian rhythm and thus less resources for growth but once it has stabilized, more shedding and growth to compensate until it gets back to the normal size range

Early Juvenile: 3-24 months

Shedding rate steadily decreases to once a month. Again if sleep schedule changes, shedding and growth will decrease until sleep schedule stabilizes, then increase to compensate.

Middle Juvenile: 2-6 years

Steady at 1 shed per month. Very unlikely for sleep schedule to change because the aliens don't drink milk from their mom anymore after they reach 2 years of age.

Late Juvenile: 6-10 years

Shedding rate starts increasing during this time until at 10 years, the shedding rate is once every 2 weeks

Early Adolescent: 10-15 years

Males still shed at a rate of once every 2 weeks but females, while whole body shedding is still once every 2 weeks, nipple skin shedding and pouch skin shedding is higher and it will reach once every few days. Pouch skin shedding will stay at that rate longer though

Late Adolescent: 15-20 years

Shedding rate starts to taper off for both males and females because growth rate slows down. Nipple specific shedding will have stopped, pouch skin shedding will decrease, and whole body shedding will decrease down to a minimum of once a year.

Adult: 20+ years

Adults shed anywhere from once every few months to once a year. This is when developing fertile eggs will increase pouch skin shedding rate due to a specific hormone that the pouch skin has receptors for while the rest of the skin does not have those specific receptors. This hormone also happens to trigger lactation indirectly.

Are these shedding rates reasonable?

posted about 6 years ago

Caters‭

6 reputation 47 0 1 0