Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Does anyone have any first hand expierience on observing a snake with a "kinked" spine? I was given a 3 month old baby Columbian (to save from the freezer) that was supposedly born with a kinked spine. The entire litter was stillborn except for this one and 1 other sibling. They are evidently eating fine but I am worried about it's future and weather or not it is in pain. It appeared just fine until I let it soak in the tub tonight. When it would swim the top 1/3 of its body would remain straight while the bottom 2/3 would do the normal s shaped swimming movement. Occasionaly the bottom part would just "flip over" belly up dragging the head around with it. Since I see no pronounced "kink" I was wondering if it somehow has a broken spine? Its sibling is the same way, it can kinda flip half its body upside down. I know this probably doesn't make much sense and I will try to get a pic and post it. I don't want to have it put to sleep but I don't want it to suffer either. It doesn't appear to be in any pain so figured I would ask all you experts. By the way I live in a rural area and have been unable to locate a vet who will consider seeing a snake. Any thoughts?

if this is the only area you see problems then i would think they should be fine. i dont think you should be putting them in a water so high either. when i put my snakes in water, i dont ever make them have to swim, just enough water so they can be submerged and still sit on the bottom.

My experience with Boas with kinked spines is that they don't make it. Many times, it gets worse and worse until you have to put them down.
Thanks for saving him and making the effort, can only try and see if he makes it.

take care, Joe
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Thanks and take care - Joe Rollo
'Tis not the stongest of the species that will eventually survive, nor the most intelligent, but the one most responsive to change' Charles Darwin

I have a boa that's probably around 3-4 years old (not certain, I adopted her). She has multiple spine deformations.

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It takes her a little while to get going... she gets really scared when I pick her up and tries to wrap around my arms. This messes her up, so when I set her back on the ground, she has to figure herself out again. Her breathing is also a little labored. But she eats great and has the sweetest temperament I've ever seen in a snake... plus, when she does get going, she's into everything.
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1.1.0 Ball pythons (Diablo, Mercedes)
0.1.0 RTB (Kinky)
0.0.1 Crested Gecko (Indy)
0.2.0 Cats (Kate and Clarice)
1.1.0 Rabbits (Milosh and Janicka)

I guess what I meant to say is: if it doesn't look like it's in any pain, gets around all right, and eats well, raise it up. You'll never be able to breed it, but it'll make a good pet
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1.1.0 Ball pythons (Diablo, Mercedes)
0.1.0 RTB (Kinky)
0.0.1 Crested Gecko (Indy)
0.2.0 Cats (Kate and Clarice)
1.1.0 Rabbits (Milosh and Janicka)

Thanks for a little hope anyway. She is eating very well and appears to get along just fine. I couldn't ask for a better temperment and a pet is all I was looking for when I rescued her.

You said you cannot see a kink. What are you going by when you say kinked spine anyway?. What does it look like, is there any deformities to the spine you can feel? The top part staying straight in the water sounds to me more like some sort of neurological damage, (which could be caused by a kinked spine but also other things, bad birth, birth defects, accidents), but a kink is obvious. You can feel that kink if it's there by running your hand down the spine. It will feel deformed. I have had some rescues in bad shape too. Most likely it's some neurological wierdness if you cannot palpate (feel) the kink. How about a pic of the back and any description of what you feel. I commend you for trying to rescue this animal, and good luck to you. Usually a pain indication is hissing, snappyness, being unsocial, does this snake have a friendly temperment or not?

BTW..Flipping over and dragging the head around sounds awful. In case that's a sign of IBD you should completely quarantine that snake from your others too.

Caden

I have finally posted some pics and am including more background info. These were taken the day I got her (Tuesday Oct. 25th). Since then she has eaten 4 mouse fuzzies, 2 that night and 2 more Sunday morning. She appears to be either dehydrated or malnourished (or both) as her neck area is wrinkled up. You can see that in the pictures. Also she has partial shed all over her body (might explain some wrinkles). The good news is her appetite is good and she aggressively strikes at every mouse I offer her. I see no kinks but was told by the previous owner she had them. I will get her out tomorrow for more pics. She is very calm and I have yet to see her act aggressive toward me or being handled. She is very lethargic and spends most the day motionless, however when I hold her she does crawl around until I return her to her cage. I have her in a 30 gallon aquarium at present with ambient temps in the mid 80's and a basking area(where she stays) in the mid 90's. Humidity is between 50 and 60 percent. I have soaked her once and mist her daily trying to help with the incomplete shed. As far as the head dragging that only happened once when she was in the tub. When she would swim aggressively her lower body would rotate 180 degrees dragging her head around with it. When I have her out and she is crawling around I detect no problems. She is showing symptoms of IBD including lethargy, incomplete shed and occasional star gazing. However her non symptoms include a strong appetite, and her ability to strike her food dead on every time. I'm hoping she's just malnourished and will get better with time. Her last 2 mice were injected with a small amount of water and herptivite vitamins. I know vitamins are usually not necessary for snakes but given her current condition I figured it might help. Will her incomplete shed come off with her next shed or should I try to remove it? I plan to feed her every 3-4 days as long as she will readily take them to try to fill her out. Any other suggestions?

Considering you're not seeing any more neurolocical problems, things might work out.

For that nasty shed ~do forced soaks (put her in something with a tight fitting lid, make sure there are either air holes or a large volume of air inside. Make the snake soak for a half hour or so twice a day. Make sure the water is just right, not too warm or chilly. You can carefully after a few soaks, take the snake in your hands, spray her with warm water and every so gently start massaging the old skin off. Do it a few times, so as not to stress this snake unduely, poor thing's been through a lot apparently. If some doesn't come off dont worry about it because she will do better next time. Keep the humidity arounf 60-65% untill the shedding it normal.

Don't worry about the shedding it will get normal with normal care. That's really great that you are not seeing any other problems. I don't think there ever was a kink, or you would still be able to feel it for life in the spine. Best of luck.

Caden