Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Yes, I've been away. Did anyone miss me? Seriously I have a fabulous young female Indigo who had a small kink in tail. It out grew it and it;s undetectable. I would love to breed her someday and want to know what the chances are that she would throw more babies with kinky tails? Of course it's a bad idea but she's special. AND related to the potential sire...HOW bad an idea is it? We of course know some inbreeding occurs in nature. I'd like to get some educated facts and theories.

I don't think anyone really knows...hence the lack of replies? I have seen and produced a few kink tails, they were very minor and like yours, at least one of them outgrew it and it is now undetectable. Consensus is kink tails more often come from incubation anomalies or irregularities at certain phases of embryo development. Temp spikes are not a good thing...there seems to be a correlation between them and kinked tails or worse. Incubate on the lower end of normal temp range I think will minimize kinking, but sometimes a kink tail will still show up. I have never bred a kink tail, so I don't have any data to support the idea you postulated about genetic kinks. Let us know what happens if you breed her, I think it is unlikely that it is genetic. Tortoises often have split scutes when incubated too warm, hence there is at least some well known pattern associated with incubation temps. in reptiles.