Old injury...?

[ntrent1]

Here's something odd....I'm not sure if I should be alarmed or not....

Monty was given to me about a week and a half ago..About 2 1/4 ft long, not really sure how old he is yet.

Well, today i was handling him, and as I ran my finger down his spine, I noticed a crook in it. It's not huge, but it is definitely not straight with the rest of his spine. He seems perfectly content however, eats just fine, and can coil and slither and move around, to a degree which seems perfectly normal to me. He's not the least bit hostile at all, and hasn't ever shown any aggression. Could this be a possible old injury from an abusive previous owner, or possibly a birth defect?

I am not sure what to think at this point, but I do know that it worries me!

Also, it does not seem painful to him at all, as i can run my finger right along through the crook, and he doesn't wince or anything, just seems like he doesnt notice at all....

[JLC]

Sounds like it could be either an old injury or a mild birth defect. Really impossible to say. However, it doesn't really sound like anything to worry about. I've heard of snakes with much more severely kinked spines living a normal life as content as a snake may ever be.


All that said...if you're really worried about it, a trip to the vet to have it checked out may be in order. Only a qualified vet who sees the animal in person can tell you for certain if its truly nothing to worry about, or if its something that needs to be taken care of.

[djslurp1200]

I would imagine a x-ray wouldn't hurt either...maybe that would help in determining wether it was an injury or defect?