Hatchling tongue issues

Hey Everyone,

It's been a minute just had a quick question for anyone that's possibly seen this before.

So I have a clutch hatching right now and I'm a little concerned. The first hatchling came out and looks completely healthy no visible defects except when it flicks its tongue its not fully retracting it. Just leaving it partially out of its mouth. It will pull it in but when it flicks it it just stays out.

I'm wondering if it may be a development issue. This clutch took 62 days to pip at 89 degrees. It's not an incubation issue because I already hatched two clutches this season with same box set ups and same incubator temps. At the same time and shelf as this clutch. And they all hatched by day 60 perfectly healthy.

I'm just curious if anyone's seen this before I'm like 100 eggs hatched over the last three seasons and I've never seen a hatchling do this before. Do you think this is something that will correct itself? Is it possible that it's an issue from the parents? Incase it helps pairing was spotnose leopard clown x Super Pastel yb fire pinstripe.

Any insight from anyone more experienced then myself would be much appreciated.

Thanks,
Sean

I've not had a hatchling with this issue- personally, I'd wait & see if it self-corrects, but it's a concern for sure. In an older snake, trouble retracting the tongue can be a sign of a mouth that's sticky with an infection- maybe this snake has some "egg" that dried a little in its mouth- I would try getting him to drink to rinse out his mouth. I assume this snake has no other obvious neurological issues (trouble moving around)?

I don't see anything in the pairing that sets off any alarms for me. Personally I incubate at 88 just in case, so 62 days isn't terrible to me.

As far as the little one goes... They take a lot of energy to hatch and there's goo everywhere. Maybe they're just resting.

Once the little one is fully out of the egg, you can try giving them a little rinse with some fresh water to get the goo off and set him up in a 'nursery' tub of sorts. Damp paper towel and back in the incubator for a bit.

If the tongue still isn't quite normal after that, then that would be a time to consider possible issues. They may also be a bit fussy about getting started on food since the flicks are a big part of that.

I know that cinnamons and black pastels will sometimes have a bit of a tongue issue, but it's where the tongue flicks more upwards and almost curls back against the nose.
If anything, I would say the only gene that I would think that could possibly cause an issue may be spotnose since it's in the spider complex, but I haven't seen anyone say anything about tongue flicks, only the wobble in certain combos.

Fingers crossed it's just icky egg goo!

I think you guys might be on to something, good suggestions. I'll give it a soak and move it to a hatchling tub. Maybe flush it's mouth with a few ml of distilled water.

Man it would suck if this clutch has issues pretty sure this one's an all gene female �� I'll post back and let you all know if that seems to have helped.

https://ball-pythons.net/gallery/fil...9273853726.jpg

Hey just wanted to give an update for anyone who may experience this in the future. Two of the four hatchlings had issues retracting their tongues. I tried washing them but it didn't help. I returned them to the egg box and after clutch hatched I washed like regular and put them in a hatchling rack. After several days the issue seems to have resolved itself and tongues seem to be functioning fine. Here's a pic of what it looked like for any future reference for anyone.

https://ball-pythons.net/gallery/fil...9787871374.jpg

Very interesting- thank you for sharing this.

That’s a good reference photo. But now I want to see what she looks like! Lol

Glad everyone is ok!