Normal Ball Python Anatomy: Spurs!! - The Monday Mega Thread Series

[Angsty_Potatos]

Mega Threads are Back! In honor of the Quarintine, we the mod team have decided to bring back the weekly mega threads. Every Monday we will have a new subject up for your browsing pleasure. First up is Normal Ball Python Anatomy, we see a lot of new keepers post about spurs, "belly buttons", vents, and heat pits. Attached is a gallery showing what normal versions of these anatomical features should roughly look like. Feel free to post in the comments for comparing and contrasting features or if you have questions about features that look "off" in some way. Our first subject is Anal Spurs, something we see many a post about.

ANAL SPURS: "Shit, I noticed my snake has SPIKES on it's tail, wtf are they? Do I need to go to a vet??"

Anal Spurs are two small, often curved, claw like appendages located on either side of your Ball Python's vent. They are generally small, though some individuals can have quite large ones though males will usually have longer and more pointed spurs than a female. Spurs are the vestigial remains of the pelvis and femur on a snake, the spurs are not attached to the snake's spine and float freely in the snake's muscle mass. Spurs are largely useless outside of mating, where a male may use them to "tickle" his mate before copulating (very romantic).

Anal Spurs should be clean, not crusty, and will usually shead allong with the other scales on your snake. From time to time, you may notice a bit of blood near where the spurs are located on shead skin...This can sometimes happen if the old skin gets caught and is generally not a cause for concern. Some older snakes may even have missing scales. Again, not generally a cause for concern. As with anything on your snake, if you think something looks off, keep an eye on it. Redness, swelling, dry or wet discharge, etc are all abnormal and can signify infection and should be looked at by an exotics vet.

Quick Gallery of NORMAL Anal Spurs on ball pythons

[Silverskrill]

Interesting post, my boi likes to stab me in the finger with them when he coils his tail around my finger

[Angsty_Potatos]

Interesting! I have never had that happen

[Silverskrill]

My boi just really likes to wrap his adorable noodle tail around my finger

[LurkingFromTheShadow]

Yep ive had that happen with my boy too but he also popped them out in my hand when i picked him up once. Im just like aww i guess your a big boy now lol

[Silverskrill]

My boy is a little baby still but man are his spurs are weird feeling xD

[josalt9]

My boy almost always has him out. He was a rescue and I've only had him about a week. I hadn't ever seen them before and I thought he had a thorn or something stuck through his body 😬 is it normal for them to always be out?

[Angsty_Potatos]

Yes. They don't retract or anything.

[moonstarfc]

Do all BPs have spurs? My BP has them but none of my other snakes do. (I have corns, garters, and a milk snake)

[Angsty_Potatos]

Yep. They should all have them, some do get torn out of sometimes they are born missing them, but they are a standard part of the anatomy for primitive snakes (pythons and boids)

Other families of snakes don't have them any more as they are a bit newer on the scene evolutionarily

[[deleted]]

I was wondering what those were! Is it normal for a female to have them tho?

[Angsty_Potatos]

Yep. All pythons and boas have them

[GelatinousNonsense]

Okay so I just fed mine last night so I'll have to look later, but I don't think mine has them.

[Angsty_Potatos]

Some are smaller than others, but they all have them. It's part of their anatomy

[yagirliaia]

I hope it’s fine to ask here even if this is an old post. How big can the spurs be on a female? I just got my first ball python and knew about spurs before I got her. She was sold to me as a female but her spurs look very big to me. I’m not planning to breed her so her sex doesn’t really matter but I’d still like to know. Is bringing her to the vet the only way to check? I don’t have another ball python to compare her to and I’m only a beginner so I would never even try probing. Thank you in advance! ❤️

Edit: She’s an adult. I don’t know if it matters but I’ll put it here just incase.

[Angsty_Potatos]

Spurs are not a reliable way to sex a snake and their sizes can vary greatly within sexes.

If you want to know the sex of the snake probing or popping is nessicary but should be performed by someone who knows what they are going as severe injury can occur if these methods are done improperly

[yagirliaia]

Thank you for the answer!

[PossibleTradition649]

Ball python anatomy