Reptile & Amphibian Forums

i have a female that is breeding right now. just a few days ago when i was feeding all of our snakes i noticed something looked different in Lluvia's back. i dont know what this is. i dont know if there is something wrong with her spine or if she has a slip disk. when i slide my finger down her back on her spine i can feel the area dip down. im wondering if theres something seriously wrong because she doesnt seem to curl the bottum half of her body anymore. she eats great. and now that i think shes gravid iam worrying alot. i care more about her health then her being gravid. im worried that if there is something wrong, and there are eggs growing in her, i dont want the eggs to make anything wrost..
in this picture i circled the area in her back that dips down. if anyone knows what this could be could you please let me know? is it a slip disk? sorry for the bad pictures.

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2.3 normals
1.0 04 het albino
0.1 IMG
Under a dead ohio sky,
Eleven has been and will be waiting,
Defending his light,
And wondering...
Where the hell have I been?
Sleeping, lost, and numb.
So glad that I have found you.
I am wide awake and heading home.
TOOL

I've never heard of spinal problems in Ball Pythons before, but that doesn't mean that it can't happen. They probably can't slip a disk though, since (as I understand it) we have disks in our backs to support/cushion our vertebrae from our upright movement - though other land animals (four-legged kind) have vertebral disks to support their backs too... hmm.

Either way, what I have heard of before in snakes is that ribs can be broken, and it can look similar to what you are concerned about. I don't have any idea what can be done for that. No matter what, you probably want to take her to the vet to be safe.

Hope that helps some. Let us know what you find out.

~Rebecca
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1.1 Ball Pythons (1.0 '05 Ghost, 0.1 '03 Normal)
0.1 Dumeril's Boa '04
0.2 American Pit Bull Terriers (40 lb darling lap dogs)

Unless she was born with it, then I would say a trip to the vet is in order. A couple radiographs will tell you the status of the spine, and an ultrasound will let you know if she's developing follicles/eggs.

Some poking and prodding is also in order to check for muscle response below and above the injury. If there are any deficits, then there was damage to the spinal cord.

If you haven't already done so, I would remove her from your breeding program.

Hey I have a 05 female with the same problem. She eats great and doesnt seem to be bothered by it. Im glad i got to see a grown up with the same problem. Here is my girl with same thing.

thank you guys for replying. i will take her to the vet just to be safe and also to know if she has eggs. i didnt think about the ribs being broken, thats a possibility. and your little baby snakes looks alot like how Lluvia's back dips down. how does she lay most of the time for you? does she lay the bottum half of her body curved but mostly straight? my female doesnt seem to ball up anymore.
thanks again everyone
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2.3 normals
1.0 04 het albino
0.1 IMG
Under a dead ohio sky,
Eleven has been and will be waiting,
Defending his light,
And wondering...
Where the hell have I been?
Sleeping, lost, and numb.
So glad that I have found you.
I am wide awake and heading home.
TOOL

She acts just like the other little ones i have. You would not even be able to see anything wrong untill you pick her up. She may be in my top 5 best eaters so that is the thing im worried about. If she cant breed it is ok to me she is a cool little one. Let me know what the vet tells you. I have been told that it might be the ribs folded under in that spot instead of growing out to form the ribcage itself.