"Kinked" Corns

I was wondering...Can kinked corn snakes long healthy lives? I have heard that some breeders release all of thier kinked corns into the wild. Why? Can they not be kept as healthy pets?

If they can eat and shed despite the kink they absolutely can lead healthy lives.

I have a 2007 kinked corn. She is VERY kinked, but only along the top of her spine- she doesn't have any bends laterally. The older and bigger she gets, the less noticeable her kinks are, to the eye. I can still feel them. I am not sure how much sensation she has in the lower half of her body. When she swims, she rolls side to side, instead of doing the S thing. She feeds and sheds fine by herself, and is keeping up in weight with another female who started out the same size. Of course I can never breed her, but she lives as nice a life here as any of them. Her name is Jasmine, if you want to look for her.

Thanks, Nanci. I will look on your site.

Wow, I don't notice her kinks.

Originally Posted by wasuslitherin

I was wondering...Can kinked corn snakes long healthy lives? I have heard that some breeders release all of thier kinked corns into the wild. Why? Can they not be kept as healthy pets?

I have never heard of a breeder releasing them. Kinked corns shouldn't be breed so most breeders cull them to ensure that they are not used for breeding.

I have 4 kinked snakes and all act and eat just like normal unkinked snakes. I did have one that was very kinked that didn't make it he only grew a couple grams in one year dispite eating normally. So most kinked snakes can live perfectly "normal"/healthy lives, but when they hatch some won't eat and some are so badly kinked it is more humane to euthanize them.

Here's a pic from when she was younger: (Jasmine was unkinked, as far as I know, when she arrived. When I fed her the first time, she had a kink. She developed many more. Don't know why).

For a long time I was terribly disappointed. I had big plans for this girl. And I was _so_ afraid to damage her. But she didn't know she was any different. And she is one of the most active snakes I have- climbing, lounging in her hammock, relaxing in her paper towel tube. One day, I thought, whatever, I'm going to treat her like everyone else, do photoshoots, be proud of her, stop hiding her away. I feel so much better.

Here are my kinked kids. The first one is the one who eventually passed away. Most of them look completely normal unless you hold them or see them up close.

Speaking of kinked corns...do we know if Squiggles made it?