Got him a couple of weeks ago from Ian G. at the Richmond show. He has a kink in his back, but he has eaten 2 times for me, shed yesterday, and is passing uraites (?). Hopefully he will be passing his food soon. The other 2 I bought at the same time haven't passed their food either, so I think he will be fine!
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Hatchling Male Butterscotch Ghost.
Randy_Middleton
May 25, 2003 10:49 AM
Replies (3)
puppychulo
May 25, 2003 11:27 AM
How do you deal with that kink in it's back? Will he ever outgrow it and be normal or will he be 'handicapped'? Is that genetic or do you think the 'kink' happened at birth if he were lumped in with a bunch of other babies?
I've never had a snake with a kink until now and, although I treat it like all the others, I don't know if it will survive. I've offered her her first food and she didn't take. I'll have to try again in a few days.
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Paul aka "PuppyChulo"
serpentcity
May 25, 2003 01:29 PM
...Paul:
Kinks can occur during embryogenesis, due to disruption of normal cell growth for various reasons, such as transient ischemia (reduced oxygen supply) via interrupted blood flow, etc. There is always the possibility that a mutation is the cause but I think rarely so. Kinks can also be caused by traumatic injury post birth due to rough handling or say if the snake got caught underneath or between something heavy, kind of like that dude that got his arm stuck under that boulder in Utah.
Kinks are compatible with life depending on their severity. The deformed bone in a kink can impinge on soft tissues and affect their function, such as the spinal cord. As the snake grows remodeling of the bone occurs and can lead to later problems but quite possibly not. For example, depending upon where the kink is, it may cause no problems until a female becomes gravid (pregnant), and she may not be able to pass one or more eggs, leading to dystocia (egg-binding).
A bigger problem in a baby snake would be constipation if the kink is towards the back end. For this reason it is important that you go slowly feeding at first to make sure the snake can pass its stools. Feed relatively smaller food items.
Scott J. Michaels DVM
serpentcity
May 25, 2003 01:08 PM
...Nice specimen. I have a het Butterscotch ghost female (bred to a visual Butterscotch male) that ovulated 5/14. Hope to have good eggs in July. The male bred a friend's normal female and she laid 7 good eggs a few weeks ago. SJM
