> We see kinked spines and small or missing eyes every so often in
> captive bred snakes. This sort of thing almost never occurs in
> wild bred babies. There are lots of theories but nobody really
> has a handle on the cause(s).

I have a suspicion that a lot of spine kinking is a recessive genetic disease that is more likely to be found in captive bred snakes due to the common practice of inbreeding.

I have found a wild baby Cali King with a spine kink - but things like spine kinks and eye problems will fairly quickly select a young snake for elimination in the wild, it doesn't in captivity.
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3.0 WC; 0.1 CB L. getula californiae
0.1 CB L. pyromelana pyromelana
0.1 WC; 10 eggs (7/11) Elgaria multicarinata multicarinata

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