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Lazy tongue in hatchlings, is this common? were the tip of the tongue hangs out a little

Damon Aug 22, 2004 10:50 AM

I hope this is normal, but has anyone ever noticed the tongue in some hatchlings?

On my first clutch I had a baby that sorta let its tongue hang out a little.

Like the baby would crawl around and the tip of the tongue would drag on the floor of the cage. You could see it was flicking the tongue but it was not going all the way back in it's mouth.

This seemed to go away after a few weeks and this snake no longer does this.

But on my last clutch that just finished hatching I noticed one of the babies doing the same thing.

It actually looks as if the tongue is to long for the snake's mouth.

I sure hope it goes away also in a few weeks.

Is this common? I hope someone understands what I am talking about.

Replies (2)

Christy Talbert Aug 22, 2004 11:44 AM

I have seen it once, it went away.

Christy

serpentcity Aug 22, 2004 04:43 PM

normal motor coordination occurs soon after birth, but I have seen a few (not in BPs) that didn't. In the few tongeless babies I've seen (again not in BPs) they didn't feed well.
Scott J. Michaels DVM

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