REPTILE CITY

An envalope? Are you kiddding? (You wouldn't bout that I'm sure) that's heartbreaking. I am well aware of the machines used to sort mail that's torture.

Recently I ordered a baby ball from ReptileCity.com. I received her this morning from...USPS in an unmarked envelope. She was in a small cloth bag filled with newspaper inside of 2 boxes inside of an envelope. She was shipped overnight, but this shipping method is awful and inhumane for her. As soon as I pulled her out, I immediately noticed a contortion on her body that I took as a broken back. I immediately called Reptile City and spoke to Nina who was kind and wanted me to update her later on the condition of the animal. I asked if I should take to an animal hospital and she said she didn't feel that was necessary for her. I took the python home, and later talked to my breeder, Jody, about her. He confirmed that she had a deformed kink probably from birth...but reptilecity had to have sent her like this, as this did not happen overnight. I've also came to realize that this python is MEAN. Once I got home from work, I went to hold her and she went crazy trying to snap and bite at me. I've managed to hold her a few times since, but she acts almost as if she is wild caught because I've never had a ball that acts in such a way. She is defensive of human touch and anything coming near her. I am very dissatisfied with this service and am awaiting a reply to get a refund for my money. They offered an exchange of the snake, but I would rather not return her as I fear she will be disposed of for her disposition.

Dallas, she may be acting aggressive because she is in pain from her injury/deformity. Poor thing. Do you have any photos you could post?

She's probably also in pain from being shipped like a TShirt.

They are issuing me a full refund so I am very happy about that.

This is a picture of her. That's a complete indent on her side that pushes through almost her whole belly. I'm not sure how eating would be for her. I also don't know if this is just a deform from birth or if it's an injury causing pain .

Here are some more pics.

Perhaps someone else has seen it occur, but personally I have never seen an inverted kink, kink being defined as a birth defect.
I've seen kinks appear as just a minor bump on the spine, to more severe cases where the spine is actually bent multiple times. The bends in the spine however point outward, either peaking up or to the side, but away from the interior of the body.
I've never given a lot of though as to why that is, but have attributed it to them being in a coiled state inside the egg when the kink developed, causing the bend to push outward from the coils rather than inward.

Just from looking at that concave "kink", my opinion would be that is an injury that occurred after birth, and at that level of severity, a broken spine to some extent would not be surprising.
I'm sure it's possible that the snake was born that way, I've just never seen or heard of a kink developing in that fashion.
Either way, if it was inside a box that was undamaged, it was like that prior to being shipped.

Honestly, that looks more like a crush injury than a birth defect - note how the ribs around the indented area point outward. I would think that if that developed in the egg, the ribs would not be fully formed. I would definitely take that animal to a qualified reptile veterinarian to ensure it's not in pain. How is her movement? Can she grip your finger with the end of her tail at all? Does she have muscular control and movement beyond the indented area?

Are you shipping her back to them? I know they're working on a full refund for you, the aggression is most likey pain/discomfort or flashbacks of how she was crushed by humans carelessness most likey, even an old injury would make her defensive, pain or not. A ball is def worth a vet visit. IF it happened more recently, there could be internal injuries to an organ or slow bleeding. If eating and poo'ing are not an issue it is most likely an older injury. Too soon to know that and not recommended before a vet visit asap, at least they'll be able to see more signs and give you some idea if its a fresh injury. Sucks you did not receive what was ordered. But if you are keepin her maybe put that refund towards a vet check? I hope she pulls through with flyin colors. The aggression may very well calm down once she comfy again- lotsa stress from life-shipping-etc. I rescued a few aggressive boas in the past and with a comfy home and gentle handleing they all were big softies in a few months.