I hatched a clutch of 50% het pieds this past summer and recently noticed that all of the babies have a "bump" on the spine almost right above the cloaca. You can't see it but you can definitely feel it when you run your fingers down the spine. Feels like a round bone but the tails are still straight with the spine.



I hatched a clutch of black pastels also, but there were no noticeable bumps in that area. The only difference between the two clutches was that the het pied clutch was maternally incubated for about a week since I missed the lay date. Besides that, both clutches were placed in the same incubator in the same tub.



My buddy recently acquired several ball pythons and noticed the same "bump" in that area.



I googled my a$$ off already and can't seem to find any answers. So please advise!



1. Can the incubation method influence the formation of kinks?

2. Is this a common occurrence?

3. Should I risk breeding any of these "kinked" snakes? (I've heard that males have a hard time locking up and females are more prone to being egg bound.)



Side note: Even though the het pied clutch hatched and was healthy they were slow to start eating. 2 of 5 have already died. The third baby is still being helped with assist feeding, it also has the largest bump.



It is kind of sad. I feel like scrapping my pied project and starting over



Any input is much appreciated!

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