Reptile & Amphibian Forums

A wierd thing happened today. I was vending at a reptile show and a couple wanted to hold a BRB. As it was cruising around, I noticed it was holding it's head funny. Almost at a complete right angle. When I straightened the neck, a big hard bump would stick out of the side of her neck, and when I released the pressure her head would go right back to being bent.

I was baffled, as she was perfectly fine when I put her in the cup the day before. I couldn't think of anything that would have caused such a severe spinal issue overnight.

I spoke with another vendor that I knew there, and he thought that it might have dislocated a vertibra, probably by pushing hard against the lid trying to get out. When I feel and look carefully, it does seem to be popped out of place.

With gentle pressure, it won't pop back in and I'm afraid to try and force it back in as I don't want to harm the snake.

Has anyone ever experienced this before? Any suggestions on what I should do? This is the first time I have ever seen or heard of a dislocated vertibra in snakes before.

I'll try to get a picture posted soon.

Thanks!
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Aubrey Ross

©
www.SlipstreamSerpents.com

That sounds nasty. I've never dealt with that, but I'd be careful about helping realign it's head as it could do more harm than good. If possible, maybe you could keep it in a larger container for a couple days and see if it fixes itself on it's own. If that doesn't work, find a good snake chiropractor Best of luck to you. I know it's gut wrenching when one of your babies is suffering.

Paul D

I think it would be best to bring the snake to a good herp vet. An x-ray will determine if the vertibra is indeed dislocated or not. You don't want to be messing around with the spine as you may end up paralyzing the snake or doing worse damage. A vet should be able to determine how best to put things to right.
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PHLdyPayne

Hey Aubrey,

That does sound weird. Do you know there was no deformity before the show? Sometimes in looking at / caring for babies I have missed more minor situations. I would suspect this is not the case but felt it should be asked. Obviously the course of action is different if it were a birth defect vs an injury whether self induced or not.

I have not heard of one injuring itself in a deli cup before but that does not mean it couldn't happen.

My long standing opinion on "special" babies is to wait and see if they can live a somewhat normal life. I've seen several with spinal kinks, two BCI with severe right angle neck kinks and several BRB's with post vent tail flipped up kinks. In all cases the babies were able to eat, defecate and shed apparently without any problems. All were sold "as is" with full disclosure and at a significantly reduced price. High enough price to prevent them from being purchased as food for something else.

I've also seen other babies at birth that clearly would not / should not survive and have put them down. Yeah, sucks and is very hard emotionally to do but IMO as a breeder you take on that responsibility.

Yes, you could take it to a vet and get a professional opinion complete with x-rays and maybe even a treatment option. Of course there would be a cost associated with that. Only you can decide if you want to go that route. I remember taking a 17 year old outdoor cat to the vet because he was not doing well and clearly suffering. The vet laid out all kinds of treatment options with euthanasia listed last. After choosing the last option,the vet told us we had (in her opinion) made the right choice but she had to offer us all the other options first.
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Thanks,

Dave Colling

www.rainbows-r-us-reptiles.com

0.1 Wife (WC and still very fiesty)
0.2 kids (CBB, a big part of our selective breeding program)

LOL, to many snakes to list, last count (02/01/2010):
42.61 BRB
27.40 BCI
And those are only the breeders

lots.lots.lots feeder mice and rats

Thanks for your advice everyone, I really appreciate it.

She still has the neck issue, but is otherwise in her normal inquisitive and healthy condition. I haven't tried to feed her yet, but will in the next few days.

I think I'll see how she handles the neck issue on her own at first, and then go from there. I'd like to get an x-ray but vets cost so darn much I'm not sure if its worth it. Will definetley take her to the vet if the neck proves to be a serious issue, though.

Will keep you guys updated.
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Aubrey Ross

©
www.SlipstreamSerpents.com

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>>Will keep you guys updated.
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how is she doping..?
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Cilene
2 kenyan sand boas
2 redfoot tortoises
3 box turtles (florida, eastern, ornate)
2 sulcata tortoises