Ball python has pointed tongue, not forked

[Ballpythonkaa]

I picked up my new baby ball python a few days ago. For the first 48 hours he did not use his tongue at all to smell and sense his environment. Recently after he was drinking out of his water dish, I noticed the his tongue for the first time. I was surprised to see that the tongue was short and pointed rather than forked. The tongue is not just stuck together, it is just pointed like a lizards tongue. Does anybody have any insight on this?

[TheSnakeGuy]

Sounds like "glossal hypoplasia" or simply an underdeveloped tongue. It's probably no harm to the animal as long as it can still pick up scents with it. If it still drinks and hunts/eats then you just have an interesting animal to talk about.

[Ballpythonkaa]

Thanks for the info snake guy. He has not eaten a mouse yet but I hope he will soon.