Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I've been noticing that a lot of pits, pines mostly, have strange, crooked tail tips that seem to point downward? Is this normal or could it be a defect that just so happens to be common? I've also noticed that kinks in the spine seem to be more common in snakes like pines and it also seems to happen a lot in cribos as well. Has anyone else noticed this?

I have also noticed this in Drymarchon. The tail tip has a slight bend. It seems to be more obvious in babies; they seem to outgrow it. Spinal kinking, usually seen near the vent, is a more serious issue and may be due to inbreeding in eastern indigos. This is a protected species and the captive population has a pretty limited gene pool. Unlike ball pythons, indigos do not tolerate inbreeding very well.

Excessive inbreeding, decreased incubation term usually caused by excessive heat during incubation term, whatever...not a "normal" trait of any snake from wild caught, blah, blah, blah...