I have a young ball python I bought as a fairly small hatchling last May. She's my first boid. I have a couple of questions I haven't been able to find answers for.
1) Today when I was watching her swallow a hopper (she can take larger mice but these are what I have on hand), I noticed a spot on her chin that is bare of scales. It was somewhere between .5 and .75 centimetres in diameter, slightly smaller in diameter than a standard pencil. Is this normal? I would pick her up and examine her, but I don't want her to regurgitate.
2) She has always been very wobbly when she is holding her upper body up in the air. She sways fairly drunkenly. Is this normal for a young python?
3) Most of the time when I watch her moving in her enclosure, she does a funny horizontal inchworm motion that makes her look as though there's something wrong with her spine. When I'm holding her, though, she feels smooth and I don't see any kinks. Is this normal, too?
I've kept pituophis and I have a large boa constrictor, and I've not seen any of these things before. I purchased her as part of a 1.1 from a breeder at an IRBA show last year, and her male counterpart died of kidney failure within ten days. But she has been a great feeder and seems to be thriving, other than her odd motions. She's a bit on the chubby side, even. Thanks in advance for any answers or suggestions. - Terri
