In my 37 years of herp keeping i have seen spinal kinks in several species including corn snakes, kings & pine snakes as well as pythons. I bred Burmese pythons for several years & after a few disasters i cracked it.
I found that temp fluctuations resulted in aberrant patterns as well as spinal deformities, odd sized eyes & undersized hatchlings. Temps that are too low or too high can result in dead in egg embryos &/or deformities.
In breeding often results in premature death of apparently healthy animals & Indigos may also fall into this category. I am hoping to breed Easterns for the first time this winter Hopefully i will succeed.
On another note,
The interstate permit in my opinion is a waste of time & money, it does not benefit the breeder, the buyer or the captive Indigo population, its just a way for the USFWS to make money. Collecting Indigos at my local airport none of the staff were interested in the permit nor had any idea what kind of snakes they were, so what is the point of the permit?
Alan B is a great source of information & advice & probably has the most genetically diverse collection of Drymarchon.
We need the USFWS to allow some WC animals into the hobby to add some genetic diversity to our beloved animals.

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