Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I picked up a male lavender hatchling at a show last month, and recently noticed he has a slight kink in his spine. It is barely visible, but noticeable when I let him crawl through my fingers. He is healthy in every other way, eating like a pig, and shedding with no problems.

Does anyone have any knowledge of whether this is a characteristic or tendency he could pass on if I breed him? I emailed the seller a little while ago asking if they would accept him back in trade for another snake. I have not heard back yet but they are reputable so I expect I will.

He is a beautiful little snake and I would consider keeping him if I could safely use him as a future breeder.

Thanks for your input.
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Kent

i have heard that if it is genetic regardless of which clutch mate you get they can pass on the kinks. That is why all my kinked babies are just pets
~kin
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I've never heard of kinked spines as being a genetic defect that can be passed on to offspring. Spinal kinking seems to be caused by improper egg incubation. I had a female black pine snake with a kink in her tail - she bred and produced normal offspring year after year.

In all likelihood your male can grow up, breed, and produce kink-free babies without any problems (as long as the eggs are incubated at the right temperature).

Tim

Third Eye

Thanks for the info.
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Kent

No problem. If the breeder won't exchange the snake, he should at least give you a partial refund, as I think you bought the snake with the understanding that it wasn't kinked. Sometimes kinks are so tiny that neither the breeder nor buyer notices until somewhere down the line via careful handling, it's revealed.

Tim

The breeder was more than willing to exchange him. They said they would re-sell him as a pet only. In exchange I got a lavender het for blood/diffused (whatever you want to call it).

It is interesting how much more orange his background color is than the first one. They said that is the diffused influence, His belly markings are also reduced. He will make a nice pairing with my female hatchling that is normal, het for blood.

I will try to post some pictures after he calms down a little.
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Kent

This hatchling had a mild kink. As long as it isn't too severe the hatchling should be fine. As this guy grew, you couldn't even tell he had a kink.