Determining hatchling ball python species, and kinked tail?

[Taylor12794]

Ok so my first clutch has hatched, out of 7, 5 made it. One was a slug and the other I'm not sure why he died. With this being my first clutch I honestly do not feel I have the ability to determine what kind of ball pythons they are, so I took pictures and hopefully I can gain some insight at too what I have. Now before going any further one ball python has a tail kink right after the vent, and the other right after I rinsed him off I noticed his eye was bulging and looked almost see through, and his head looks like it doesn't have all the color pigmentation and slightly deformed. On day two of checking on this snake his bulging-eye has gone down and still looks as though he may have no eye but seems to be functioning fine. I am not sure why they are like this so what could have caused it? Genetics maybe? Could the kinked tail snake live okay? Any info would be much appreciated! I'll number the snakes by the photos.

#1

#2

#3 I couldn't get him to unfold

#4 the tail kink snake


#5 the eye problem and not fully colored head "how he is pictured, it is the right eye"

[Taylor12794]

Well I cannot figure out how to upload the photos I've tried for like an hour now, it's from my iPad gallery anyone know how?

[Eric Alan]

Ball pythons only have one species - ball pythons (Python regius)! I'm sure you're wondering about which morph they may be though, so I'll wait for pictures to see on that one.

As far as the deformities, what temperature did you incubate at? Did you have any fluctuation in temperature at all during incubation? What was the pairing?

How to Post Pictures

[Taylor12794]

Ok I finally got it, so here are the pictures

Now the last two are the same snake and ones with the tail kink, and the second and third are the same and the ones with the eye. I think my temps were a little lower on accident around 86 as I did not put a temp gauge inside the egg tub. Inside the incubator it was set to 89 from day 1. Could 3 degrees affect them this much?


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[Taylor12794]

Ok so this is my second time doing this post because my first I couldn't get photos uploaded. But here we go, k so my first clutch has hatched, out of 7, 5 made it. One was a slug and the other I'm not sure why he died. With this being my first clutch I honestly do not feel I have the ability to determine what kind of ball pythons they are, so I took pictures and hopefully I can gain some insight at too what I have. Now before going any further one ball python has a tail kink right after the vent, and the other right after I rinsed him off I noticed his eye was bulging and looked almost see through, and his head looks like it doesn't have all the color pigmentation and slightly deformed. On day two of checking on this snake his bulging-eye has gone down and still looks as though he may have no eye but seems to be functioning fine. On day THREE his eye is budged up again like its filling with fluid?I am not sure why they are like this so what could have caused it? Genetics maybe? Could the kinked tail snake live okay? The only thing I can think of was my mistake of the temps being at around 86.. I did not put a temp gauge inside the egg tubs so my incubator was set at 89 but I think it must have been lower because it took them about 75 days to hatch. Any info would be much appreciated! I'll number the snakes by the photos.
#1

#2

#3 I couldn't get him to unfold

#4 the tail kink snake


#5 the eye problem and not fully colored head "how he is pictured, it is the right eye"



Any info would be appreciated!


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[BCS]

The last one is a pastel, very normal for their heads to be blushed out. How ever that eye concerns me and needs a vet soon. The rest look like normals, without knowing what the parents are, I couldn't tell you for sure if they are normals or not. The one with the kinked tail. I highly doubt will make it. He probably wont be able to defecate. He too will need a vet but they may just have to put him down. No one is ever ready for this type of thing, but if you are not prepared to take them to a vet, then maybe breeding isn't your thing.

[Taylor12794]

The parents were a normal and a pastel. And yes I am planning on taking them to the vet.. But hopping for the best. What could have caused this?


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[Kibbleswhites]

Looking at the photos the kinked snake seems to be kinked on the body side of the vent not the tail side. If this is the case, I think the kink is severe enough to hinder the passing of normal urates and feces. The snake is most likely not capable of breeding especially if it is female. If it were out of my clutch, I would euthanize that one. The one with the eye will most likely be fine if it is indeed a birth defect and not an injury of some sort. The snake may never be able to see out of that eye but they do not use their eyes as much as we would think they do. The rely more on their heat pits and sense of smell. I would treat the one with the eye as a normal hatchling.

[Taylor12794]

You are right about the vent part being behind not in front. He seems like a really nice and functioning snake. I would hate to have to euthanize him... What would happen if I tried feeding him to see if he passes it? And i know it is not an injury cause by me because I noticed it as soon as I pulled him out of the container. I just pulled some gunk out of his mouth, I think it was vermiculite, hopefully it might get Better in time. I'm just curious as too how I would go about euthanize get him, I myself do not have the heart so i will probably take him to the vet, but how would others go About this?

[Chkadii]

So sorry to hear about the issues with some of your clutch.

There's no "comfortable" way of euthanizing a ball python. The most humane way is the messiest - total instant annihilation of the brain. Gasses don't work well because they have such a slow respiratory rate. Decapitation is inhumane because the brain can survive too long without a body. Freezing is inhumane because they don't just fall asleep like people do - they allegedly feel their blood cells crystalizing.

Some people practice pithing, which involves inserting a rod into the skull and scrambling the brain. Though it's been mentioned, I've yet to see any type of in depth instructions, so it's best that it be done by someone who isn't squeamish and had a solid understanding of ball python anatomy.

I do not know if a vet would pith - my guess is they would inject the snake with some kind of drug combination to seize the heart.

It may be worth a shot to feed the kinked hatchling, just educate yourself on what the risks are (i.e. regurgitation, ruptures, sepsis, etc.) and make an informed decision. I'm in favor of supporting viable life, but there is a point where supportive measures become cruel when the life is ultimately not viable. Use your best judgment, and keep in mind that surviving isn't the same as thriving.