Missing Spur?

I noticed this a couple weeks ago, but I haven't bothered to take her to a vet or any such thing since it doesn't appear to be detrimental to her health, and there's no bleeding.

Basically, she's missing a spur. :weirdface

She still had both spurs after her last shed, so I ruled out that one of them fell out during the process. It just went... poof. The only thing left is a tiny little hole. Like, for example, the hole you would get after popping a stubborn little zit on your forehead. (Hahah, sorry, gross) :rofl:

Main question is, do they grow back? Like how sharks constantly lose teeth, and they just regrow. And should I be worried?

Wow... I am anxious for a reply to this one... Good luck...

So am I... :( I'm kinda the one that needs help here. Well, my snake does, but ya know what I mean. :oops:

I've NEVER heard of this happening. Did you get rid of the shed, because if you still have it maybe the spur is in it.

I doubt it will cause any issues to it breeding or living successfully, but the thought gives me the wiggins.

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Originally Posted by Oxylepy

I've NEVER heard of this happening. Did you get rid of the shed, because if you still have it maybe the spur is in it.

I doubt it will cause any issues to it breeding or living successfully, but the thought gives me the wiggins.

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Same here - after all this time cruising BP.net, I've never even read a HINT of a missing spur existing. :weirdface

I DO remember her still having both spurs intact after the shed. And no, I never kept it. It happened to be a bad shed. :rage:

Oh, well look around her enclosure for it?

Although mine do seem to barely show their spurs, as if they aren't there, but thats because they're chubby and have very short spurs. Maybe you'll see it again when she poops :/

if i were u i would go into the breeding forums and ask them. ive heard of them breaking or falling off and i dont think it really matters. im not really sure

If I'm not mistaken, spurs can occasionally fall off or break off and it's not detrimental to the animal. I've noticed that the spurs, over time, increase in size.

Oddly enough I was cleaning my old male yesterday and noticed his spur was gone. I found it in the enclosure.

http://i256.photobucket.com/albums/h...g?t=1259410189

http://i256.photobucket.com/albums/h...g?t=1259410226

I don't think it's anything to be concerned about. I think they may be equivalent to fingernails and will grow back over time.

they do come off and it no big deal I gone though and removed the spurs on a couple of my females ( hets) so I can actually tel lthem appart when I breed them since some times I can't tell my femals from the male cause th pattern looks os similar to me.. ( reason I can't tell a pastel axanthic apart if they brown out)

anyhow the spur are just a build up of dead skin on a toe for lack of a better word ( off the top my head) and can be consider something like a nail. Their no real pressure to remove it and it don't bleed, and the snakeI removed it from don't even care.

I agree with the fingernail analogy. I've had a ball python get a spur torn off when it got stuck in the fabric of a snake bag. I pulled the snake out and the spur stayed behind. I haven't really paid much attention to it, but if memory serves it is growing back. If there is some root of the scale left behind it should grow back, but if its been torn out completely it may not.

According to Tim Bailey (as he's popping the spurs off one of my males), spurs are really just layers upon layers of shed that build up to make the spur larger. They do "grow" back over time with future sheds.

He's popping them off my male going "I bet you didn't know that spurs are just layers of shed". And I'm going :O, my poor boy!!!!! LOL

In any case, to the OP - it's no big deal or any detriment to your snake. This same boy went on to successfully father a clutch a few months later with no "visible" spurs. This also further proves that you can't sex a snake based on the size of their spurs.

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Originally Posted by rabernet

According to Tim Bailey (as he's popping the spurs off one of my males), spurs are really just layers upon layers of shed that build up to make the spur larger. They do "grow" back over time with future sheds.

He's popping them off my male going "I bet you didn't know that spurs are just layers of shed". And I'm going :O, my poor boy!!!!! LOL

In any case, to the OP - it's no big deal or any detriment to your snake. This same boy went on to successfully father a clutch a few months later with no "visible" spurs. This also further proves that you can't sex a snake based on the size of their spurs.

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That's interesting, I did not know that. It does make sense though, when is the last time you noticed spurs on a shed skin? Is there any reason to remove the spurs? Or is it just an appearance thing?

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Originally Posted by MarkS

That's interesting, I did not know that. It does make sense though, when is the last time you noticed spurs on a shed skin? Is there any reason to remove the spurs? Or is it just an appearance thing?

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I don't know of any reason to remove the spurs (other than to prove the point to me that they were a build up of shed - LOL).

I have had my normal boy also break off a spur once in a while. They do grow back slowly, but it is freaky if you've never seen it before!

I his book, Barker tells that the male spurs are used during courtship, the male is suposed to make special movements with those. I've personally never saw a male making anithing with its spurs, and at least sometimes they grow back after they fall. Time ago , I got a male pied missing a spur and now it has both ...

My BP had his left spur come out about 6 months ago and it has definetely grown back some(but not fully) since then.

I remember reading this somewhere but once a snake loses its spur(s) they will never grow back, and it really won't have any effect on the snake at all. So pretty much once it's gone it's gone.

Never mind that, I read the above posts and found out this statement isn't true. Though, I DO remember reading this somewhere.

Thanks for all the help, guys! :P I didn't think it was anything to worry about, but I learned some interesting facts along the way, so thanks! :D

i have an adult ball python that is missing one spur. she never had it when i got her when she was young. she must be at over ten years old now and still nothing. it never appeared to bother her though.

yet another thing I've come to this forum for information on. My little guy just lost a spur during a shed and now I'm not too worried about it

Yes my 2 year old male is missing one as well. Only had him for two weeks. He is just getting out of blue and about to have his first shed with me. I personally think I've gotten in a little over my head with him. I love him so much and I wanna do right by him.

One came off mine, it was hollow inside, so it was just like a cap on the end of the spur which was still there but like a stub.

It doesn't seem to have caused any issues at all.

I suppose if the full thing broke off, then another one would grow as its a claw basically, but might take years.