garter birth defect

[Steven@HumboldtHerps]

I may have mentioned this snake on a previous thread somewhere, and I know for sure I have a pic of "him" posted in my gallery, and well, I just can't help but tell everybody about my one-eyed snake! Yes, I get a lot of strange looks, when I say that! But that's expected. "Lefty", the one-eyed Oregon Garter, is a strange snake.

Late last summer, I was strolling along the river's edge near our favorite camping spot (Matthew's Creek in SW Siskiyou County, CA) looking for my favorite garter, the snappy T. a. hydrophilus, when all of a sudden I saw a garter that couldn't see me! ...At least from the right side... I never planned on bringing home a neonate Oregon, but this snake (still unsexed!) would have never made it in the long run (easy target!). Yes, Lefty was born with one eye. Totally weird facial scale arrangement, like everthing just moved in to fill a void.

My question to all of you is: Have any of you seen this birth defect in other garters or other snakes?

By the way, as of today, Lefty is on "his" way to becoming a healthy yearling. I still have not perfected Alan Francis' trout recipe (too much gelatin), but Lefty currently feeds on pieces of raw rainbow trout, tadpoles, and the occasional guppy. The other day (this may sound gross!) I fed him my trout's eyeballs, which he relished; I figured these normally go down the hatch with wild specimens, and he could use ingredients other than just the meat. Since I haven't figured out how to grind down and mix in skin and bones for the complete meal, I chose a non-invasive eyeball! No bone sticking in the throat! The trout eye is encased in a round bony shell, hey! Calcium! And maybe, just maybe... Lefty was in the mood for an extra pair of eyes...

Enough sillyness! Here's a few pics of Lefty!









These are older pics. I hope to post some new ones soon!

Steve

[jewel-dragons]

Hi steven,that looks weird...
i had that also with some bearded dragons....
people can be dis-abeld but animals also :-)


very nice pictures ;-)

bye bye Kuno

[drache]

interesting
I don't know how disabling that would be for him
there is a segment in Life in Cold Blood where they film a snake population that feeds on bird chicks and many of them had lost their eyes to bird attacks, yet it didn't seem to impair them much

[crzy_kevo]

that very interesting
thanks for sharing steven

[Lori P]

Steven, I'm glad you posted this because I had been looking at your avatar for a while now and thinking... is that snake missing an eye?? lol Now that explains it.

I think you should fashion him an eye patch... think how dashing he'd look!!!

[ssssnakeluvr]

very interesting....sounds like he's got a better shot at a long life with you!!

[gregmonsta]

Inge had a birth with both eyes turned inward a while back. Here's the link http://www.thamnophis.com/forum/bree...rmed-pics.html

[jitami]

Lefty is adorable Steven! What an odd little guy, certainly lucky to have crossed paths with you

[jeanette]

wow hes cute. its interesting that you came across him though, gives you something interesting to study...maybe how common these birth defects are now in comparison to maybe 10 years ago. or some study like that, it could turn out to be valuable information.

[Steven@HumboldtHerps]

Crazy deformity Inge! Eyes turned inward. Very bizarre!

Lefty does not have any difficulty hunting, although he doesn't always catch movement (from prey) in his big water dish from his blind side. When he is facing prey from above looking head on (as Oregons often do in the wild - from a rock above the water), he has no problem hunting; even engages in the Oregon tongue-luring behavior!