Hi,

Kinking is genetic in some lines of caramel albinos when they are inbred with sibs or parents. Outbreeding to different lines has helped the situation somewhat and as further outbreeding and culling of kinked animals from breeding groups continues, kinked caramels should become more of an exception. I have hatched kinked and non-kinked caramels from sib to sib het breedings and will hopefully hatch out some clean caramels from this years outbred clutches.

Other forms of kinking are not genetic such as the kinking that occurs when snake eggs (any snakes) are incubated at to to high of a temperature during a certain stage of embyonic development. I have had incubators spike unexpectedly which resulted in clutches of kingsnakes, carpets, burms and balls that had a high percentage of kinked offspring. This phenomena was clearly the result of the high incubation temperatures and not genetics, as the parents of all of the clutches routinely produced healthy, kink free babies prior to and after the malfunction.

Kinks that are genetic or temperature induced develop prior to hatching so they are evident immediately, whereas some nutritional deficiencies can cause developmental kinking that occurs over a period of time. This type of kinking can also be minimalized by a return to good husbandry and contined normal development. Basically, the animal can sometimes grow out of the kink to the point where it is no longer noticeable. Good luck.

Will

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