Here are a couple of pics with some of this years hatchlings, the banana lesser is 5 and a half month old and the other banana is 4 and half month old.

 

I'm sorry I really have no idea, but the size difference is striking. So she eats the same size meals as the others?
Hopefully the more experienced royal keepers will have an insight on this.

 

Can't say I've personally came across this, but I guess it can happen as each snake is an individual and who can tell what goes on in the genetic make up whilst the snake is developing. Normally, even with slow starters, they soon catch up to their siblings size when eating the same amount of food. But as you say, for 18 months there is a striking difference !

 

Often animals with multiple morph genes or just some specific genes don't grow as well or get as big. Its not dwarfism, it's more they're bit 'genetically incompetent.'

 

I've not heard of that before, and she's the same as her mother who is 5ft plus, the amount she eats, she should definitely be growing more, I have hatchlings at 5 and half months old bigger than her now and hatclings at 4 months the same size, her siblings are at least a metre long, and she hasn't been treated any differently, she just doesn't grow much, I guess only time will tell.
Thanks for the input anyway guys 👍

 

Interesting observation!

Genetically incompetent; is that a new way of saying inbreeding depression, Tom?
A build up of deleterious alleles
Too many homozygous genes?

I guess if there’s the same energy/nutrient input but a net loss in growth comparatively, then it suggests issues with metabolism and internal growth regulation?

Maybe not a good specimen to try to breed from, but interesting to keep tabs on. Perhaps start record keeping of weighings of the animal and each meal.

Check for blood in stools, or possible indicators of difficulty with absorption/uptake.

Keep us posted 🤔

Andy F

 

Interesting observation!

Genetically incompetent; is that a new way of saying inbreeding depression, Tom?

I just made it up to avoid swearing 😂 polite way of saying f*cky.

Sort of. I have just noticed that a lot of morph snakes across different species (Royals, Corns, and Hognoses come to mind first of all) are sometimes smaller, as hatchlings and/or adults. Not all those examples have been multi gene animals and not all the examples even hatched out smaller, they just slowed down in growth. The only comparing factor really is the fact they were all morphs, though thinking whilst I am typing: super forms of royals did appear a lot as these sorts of things.

That all being said many different factors cause this sort of thing, care but also just general difference between individuals. Not all humans are the same size, and not all humans grow at the same speed.

 

The more us humans mix and match genes to produce more designer patterns or traits the more chances there are of discovering mutant trends, shark nose (under developed lower jaws), the corkscrewing with spiders, larger eyes in some super forms to name a few. It could be that something in the genetics has caused some of the issues mentioned above. Not all supper lessers are bug eyed snakes, not all spiders produce spiders with cork screwing, and maybe the combo here produces metabolism issues which don't always occur in every hatchling, and you have just been unlucky ?
As mentioned above, see how it progresses - weight the defrosted food item, and weigh the snake at regular weekly times, this way you'll get an average as the snake may weigh a few grams lighter after defecating. This way over time you can get some idea of the efficiency of the snake to convert food into growth.

 

I see what your saying about the morphes, as she should not be a super as there is only one copy of the fire gene in the pairing that produce her, so she shouldn't be a leucistic, as for health, she is perfectly healthy, poos every 4 to 5 days, no blood in stools and functions normally with no problems other than she's small.
Thanks for the input 👍

 

What was the pairing?

 

As with humans, animals can have genetic disorders caused by chromosome abnormalities. These disorders can be from a well known one to a unique one due to each chromosome being made up of several sections and Royal Pythons have 36 chromosomes, 18 pairs of which one pair is the sex chromosome. Obviously, I've kept that information very basic.

The only way to find out if your snake has a chromosomal disorder would be via blood testing and a detailed history. I'd imagine it would be incredibly expensive. Have you ever taken your Royal to see a specialist reptile vet? They may have some idea on the problem and can also check the overall health of the snake to see if more than growth is affected.

The other issue is breeding from the same pairing again or even just the female. If it's a genetic mutation, the risks of it happening again are higher. It's worth remembering that, depending on if the faulty gene is dominant or recessive, the issues may come when one of Mum's offspring breed. Also, it could be the male passing on the faulty gene.

Have you kept a growth record for the snake?

 

I recall watching a video some years back where a young female royal had previously laid a clutch of three or four eggs having been paired with a male of the same gene, and all of which produced hatchlings with the same deformity, which sadly was so bad all had to be destroyed ( I think it was missing lower jaws and kinking). But the keeper then bred the same female to a different male, and the same male to a new female to see if the issue was either a: an incubation problem, b: a problem with the original male, or c: a problem with the original female or d: a genetics issue. The result of both clutches was the same defect was seen in all hatchlings, and both clutches had to be destroyed.

Now not saying this is the case in the OP snake, but it could be that the problem is a genetic one, but one that is local to the parents rather than being a global issue. It would be interesting to see how the snake progresses and if it does reach the normally accepted weight and length for a Royal.

 

@Malc To get to the bottom of the issue you described, they'd have to look further back into the bloodlines for any crossovers. A recessive mutation meeting the same recessive mutation would result in it dominating the offspring. Ideally, any snakes bred that have resulted in such problems shouldn't be bred again. Genetics are a massively complex area, just one tiny blip in a single part of a chromosome can cause awful abnormalities.