small head?

One of my Pied girls went through a phase when her head was freakishly small compared to her body. She grew out of it and has since bred some wonderful babies. I hope it turns out for you too. IMHO I think she looks ok.

Huh, that's really interesting. I was looking at her pics when she was up for sale and kept thinking her eyes looked bulgy. But now I'm inclined to think her eyes are probably normal sized, it's the rest of the head that's a little small and oddly shaped. I still adore her pattern, though, and she's cute as a bug! What's not to love?

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Originally Posted by Phantomtip

It looks to me that this baby has a really short nose, almost like a brachiacephalic dog (like a boxer, or English bulldog) or a mix. Sorry I have more experience with dogs. Yeah the head does look for shortened. Cute little thing none the less. Hope it doesn't cause any health issues. Does it eat ok?

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I agree.
But like most brachycephalic dogs, the only real issues are respiration problems. I know very little if snakes can get this disorder but I would look for and listen for any problems breathing. Any wheezing, yawning or a persistent elevated neck would be a concern.

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Originally Posted by piedplus

One of my Pied girls went through a phase when her head was freakishly small compared to her body. She grew out of it and has since bred some wonderful babies. I hope it turns out for you too. IMHO I think she looks ok.

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as i understand it, the head grows at a rather constant rate, while the body can grow faster or slower due to diet.

but i think its absolutely not the case here, its about proportions. not between head size and body size, but the proportions of the head itself.

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i had one realisation.... at first i thought that this one shouldnt be bred because of the risk that it may be genetic. but now some of the posts make me thing, if one were to intentionally try to line-breed ball pythons with short heads, that would be exactly what such a breeder would be looking for. maybe someone would breed this one precisely for the reason that there is a chance for it being genetic.

personally i dont like it in cats or dogs because i think messing with color and length of hair is fine, but messing with the actual body shape would go a bit too far. its a bit too freaky for me.

but its still interesting. not for me, but making the nose shorter and maybe even having the eyes look in a more forward direction would make the head look somewhat more human / less alien.

Something is tickling the back of my brain about BEL complex animals and bug eyes, but I can't recall what exactly. Just something about BEL related things, bug eyes, and then them usually growing out of it. It is the same animal in both sets of pics (he didn't pull a swap on you), but she does look different head and eye wise. I'm kind of wondering if she's just having some kind of lopsided growth spurts and going through a bit of ugly duckling head awkward phase.

I know super butters/leaders can have bug eyes. Thanks for all the replies. I may hang on to her and see how she grows . not sure.

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Her bottom jaw looks little. I have one like that. Gives her a muppet nose but she eats wonderfully.

Just thought I'd update on this girl. She is slamming live adult mice. Eats fine. I almost want to say the nose seems to be looking better as she grows. What do you think the chances of me selling this girl are? I didn't take the seller up on the offer to return her, but now I'm not 100% convinced I want to keep her to breed. She is really sweet though and would make a good pet either way.

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Well, if you're going to give an update, you should do it with a pic. :gj:
You see, we here at BP.net are addicted to pichurrs.

How long have you had her? Why not keep her as a pet if you like her but don't want to breed her.