Serpentine chiropractics?

Sorry to harass everybody again… but while holding Enthalpy a couple of days ago, something odd happened. She was wormed around both my hands, and I needed a hand free, so I mostly untangled my right hand until just the tip of her tail was wrapped around my index finger. Then I gently pulled my hands apart, figuring she’d let go with her tail.

But she didn’t. She just kind of let herself stretch out, and then I heard – felt – this weird clicking. It felt like what happens when I’ve been sitting too long and have to stretch to realign my spine. I wasn’t even pulling hardly at all, and I certainly wasn’t tugging. I quit right away, but Enthalpy didn’t seem particularly discomforted, just went right on tying herself into a big knot around my fingers. Then she went to sleep.

I tried it with the other snake, Entropy, as well – just letting him hold onto one hand with the very tip of his tail, then slowly moving my hands apart. He “clicked” too, and held real still with his muscles all loose and relaxed for a minute, but let go after he’d had enough. Being gently pulled on didn’t seem to bother him, either.

What in the world is going on? Is it just the spine un-kinking? Is it good/bad/neutral for the snakes? Neither seemed to have minded, but I certainly won’t do it if it hurts them. They both seem perfectly fine now, a couple days after the “clicking.” Could I have hurt them anyway? Help!

Thanks,
TS.


*****

Life is to be lived, not controlled, and humanity is won by continuing to play in face of certain defeat.
-Ralph Ellison

Don't worry it's nothing much. But then I would try to aviod doing that. It's just like a human being cracking their knuckles. As you have said it's like when you have been sitting for too long and you move there is a crack from the bones. I have hear that it's just a way of letting air bubbles out from the bones. It's quite natural. But doing it purposly on yourself or the snake would cause harm. So don't try and make that cracking noice on them as you please. Don't worry about it!

Good Luck and Happy Herping!

I know the sensation you're talking about. I've "felt/heard" it before with my snakes too. I really think that it is a stretching of the skin between the scales just before a shed that you are experiencing. I have always seen this happen a week or so before a shed. I think the snakes are using your fingers for a streching opportunity to prepare for the shed to come.

Darin

this noise usually happens when Im stretching my corns out to messure them to see how long they are... I dont think that any harm is coming to them... its just like what Simon said cracking your fingers... dont worry to much about it... its just another fasinating thing that corns can do...

I've noticed that sound with the corns and especially with my boa. Apparently it doesn't hurt, as my boa will amble off and start getting herself into a crevice at which time I notice and grab her and pull. She'll resist and, although she's holding on just with her neck, she won't let go and the crackling sound happens. It seems to me it's a muscular sound, of myriad taught tendons snapping into new positions as I pull on her. I end up having to somehow disentangle her to get her back, as she just won't let go. Fortunately my corns aren't quite as headstrong as she is.

Snakes have around 400 vertebral bodies and interposing cartilaginous joints, discs, etc., as opposed to the 7 cervical, 12 thoracic, 5 lumbar and 4 sacral vertebral bodies we have [and 1 coccyx or vestigial tail bone]. So snakes are a chiropractor's dream [or nightmare?] compared to us.

I've heard the same noises, and I've never thought about whether or not it might have been related to the raised epidermal plates we call scales pulling apart laterally, or the interposing elastic skin pulling apart, whether pre-shed or not--this is a very original interpretation, and I can't rule this out. But I've always concluded it to most likely be nitrogen gas bubbles escaping from the joints, causing popping noises just like it does in us.

Although I'm an MD, I dated at different times in the past a chiropractor and a massage therapist--obviously we traded out a lot. Got me through med school--it always felt good to "get my back cracked", among other things we did. But I was curious as to whether or not it was good, bad, or indifferent. I ran some searches on medical [not specifically chiropractic] databases, and from the studies, concluded that except for rare accidents involving blood vessels or nerves in a pathological condition to begin with, or spines with highly abnormal anatomy either congenitally or from trauma, that the effect long term was neutral at worst. Since it also felt good short term, I concluded that I'd keep getting some chiropractic work done--even though most MD's don't like the idea of that. But then I never went along with the crowd.

But the studies I read all dealt with humans. I checked, and couldn't find a single study of chiropractic maneuvers in snakes. Can't imagine why! I would err on the side of caution, and avoid doing these "tail pulls" purposefully, but also not freak out unnecessarily when they happen by accident.

Cracking back,
Doctor Mike