fish dude

So there are quite a few unhealthy reptile morphs out there and I only discovered most of them by fluke, so I thought I’d make a masterpost. There are likely many more which I haven’t heard of yet, so feel free to expand on this post with others.

Enigma Leopard Geckos

The Enigma morph is one that covers the Geckos body in little spots that look like freckles, very cute but it comes with a devastating condition known as “Enigma syndrome” This disorder affects a Geckos fine motor control and results in many secondary symptoms such as stargazing (looking upwards frequently), walking around in circles frequently, wobbly and difficult walking, seizures, and an inability to catch prey due to their aim being affected from this condition. Overall it significantly decreases their quality of life. An animal may not demonstrate this condition for many years, it can come on years into their life. This is a dominant genetic disorder meaning any animal which is an enigma will pass this onto offspring. Even ‘healthy’ appearing animals will carry this gene and pass it along to offspring. The Enigma morph needs to be phased out completely since all who are Enigma have the potential to develop this disorder.

Sunkissed Corn Snakes

The Sunkissed morph is pictured above, rather striking in its vivid colouration. However the price for it is something known as "Stargazing Syndrome” which is pictured in the right side photograph. Stargazing syndrome is a vestibular syndrome (balance affecting condition) which prevents normal functionality of the central nervous system and causes these snakes to twist their necks and heads upwards towards the sky. Basically put, these snakes can’t work out which way is up and are often found upside down on their backs. It affects these snakes by causing difficulty moving, disorientation, inability to right themselves into a normal position if on their backs, and sometimes even tremors and seizures. Once again a genetic disorder, however since its recessive you often won’t know if the snake is a carrier or not. The only way to tell if a snake carries the stargazing trait is to breed them; any who prove to carry this trait should never be bred again.

Spider Ball Pythons

The Spider morph is absolutely stunning, characteristic of that 'drippy’ black patterning on the body and a rather unique head stamp/pattern. It can come in many varieties since it’s commonly bred into other morphs such as pied, banana, etc. However it causes something called “Wobble Syndrome” which is a severe neurological disorder. This is hypothesised to be caused by an error in the neural crest during embryonic development. The neural crest is responsible for arranging neurons in the correct positions and depositing pigmentation. This morph alters where pigment is usually placed in the body, giving them the gorgeous appearance, however it consequently prevents neurons from reaching their correct positions, hence the neurological disorder. Wobble Syndrome causes many severe and debilitating issues to the snake. The most noticeable being 'corkscrewing’ which is where the snake will flip it’s head and neck upside down, right way up, and upside down again in quick succession. However they are also affected by head tremors, difficulty moving, lack of coordination, inability to right itself if upside down, torticollis (neck spasms), poor muscle tone, and difficulty eating due to head wobbling and missed strikes. Wobble Syndrome is a dominant genetic disorder meaning any snake which expresses the spider phenotype will suffer from and pass on this disorder to offspring. It can range from barely noticeable to severe, and an animal may not suffer at first, but can develop the disorder after several years of being 'healthy’. The Spider morph needs to be phased out completely since all who are Spider have the potential to develop this disorder.

Jaguar Carpet Pythons

The Jaguar morph has to be one of the most visually stunning morphs out there, it’s characterised by it’s gorgeous spots which resemble a jaguars. However the price they pay for their beauty is once again, “Wobble Syndrome”. Jaguars are identical to Spider Ball Pythons in their suffering, and it’s even thought that the Neural Crest deformity is the cause for these guys too. It is important to note that there are several species who can carry the jaguar gene. The gene originated in Jungle Carpet Pythons but has since been bred into other Carpet Pythons (CP for short) species such as the Irian Jaya CP, Darwin CP, Coastal CP, and Diamond CP. Pretty much the only difference with the Jaguar morph is that it is not a dominant gene like the spider morph, and it’s not a recessive gene like the sunkissed morph. The Jaguar gene is a co-dominant mutation. What that means is that the Jaguar gene is visible along with whatever other gene the snake carries. You almost always have two genes for something, and in codominance neither of those genes are recessive to the other, and neither are dominating to the other either. This means both genes express, so to put that into a visual sense (but not genetically accurate!) if you bred a black and a white cat together, the offspring would be black and white if they were co-dominant. This just like the spider and enigma morph means any snake which expresses the Jaguar phenotype has the ability to develop Wobble Syndrome and will pass it along to offspring. The Jaguar morph needs to be phased out completely since all who are Jaguar have the potential to develop this disorder.

Silkback Bearded Dragons and Scaleless Snakes

Silkback bearded dragons and Scaleless snakes are exactly what they sound like, they are completely devoid of any and all scales and instead only have the layer of skin present beneath reptile scales. I admit I do not know much about Scaleless snakes, but assume they suffer the same affects as the silkback bearded dragons so have included them here. Silkback bearded dragons are produced when two leatherback bearded dragons are bred together. The leatherback gene is co-dominant (it can also be recessive) and if a dragon receives two copies of this co-dominant gene then they are a silkback. Co-dominance means two genes are working together, so one copy of leatherback and one copy of normal scales means together these genes create a dragon who has reduced spikes and scales but they still have scales! Two copies of the leatherback gene means the co-dominance has nothing to partner with, so the dragon we get is completely devoid of scales. Now, for an animal which is supposed to have scales, having no scales comes with many severe issues. The main being that they suffer extreme shedding difficulty and have no protection from sharp objects or other dragons. Scalesless animals can easily be cut or punctured from ornaments in a tank which are safe for their scaled or leatherback counterparts. Even a basking log, brick, or rock can cut them if they run against it wrong. This means their tank needs to be almost empty or only have soft, pliable decor which provides no risk of injury. This can be severely damaging to the animals mental wellbeing as there is no enrichment opportunities for the animal. Shedding wise, these animals need to be soaked in baths almost daily to maintain skin hydration, and when it comes time to shed their shed will shrink to their skin and it’s often for them to lose toes, bits of tail, or even get pieces stuck around their heads and necks which can cause severe damage. You can also not breed silkback bearded dragons (am unsure about Scaleless snakes?) pairing another dragon with a silkback will cause extreme injury. If the silkback is female, the male bearded dragon will cut her open with his claws as he mounts her and he will tear her shoulders and neck open where he holds her with his mouth. These injuries can be life threatening. Furthermore, if the silkback is male he may receive lacerations and cuts to his stomach upon mounting the female or he may be critically injured if she rejects him and bites or scratches in retaliation. If all of that isn’t bad enough these scaleless animals also have an increased risk of illness due to decreased immunity (immunity decreased due to unknown reason) and suffer extremely reduced lifespans. Scalesless animals are an incredibly unnatural and disgusting morph which needs to be completely phased out.

i’m so happy that you’re interested in the wonderful world of snails! i would love to give you some advice.

getting ready for your new snails

snapartment (snail apartment)

before you adopt any snails, you should prepare a cozy home for them. i keep mine in a 10 gallon aquarium that works perfectly. if you decide to use this aquarium, i highly suggest you also get a cover like this. it’s not the exact one that i have, but i’m sure it will work great. next, you will need some kind of substrate. i use plain soil that i found at walmart for my snails, and i recently bought some coconut soil that i’m going to try out (ill post about that soon!) i also bought two succulents and planted them in the aquarium. succulents are great for snail habitats because they’re cute, they don’t need a lot of water or sun, and snails love to climb them! i found some rocks outside and washed them thoroughly in the sink and placed them in the aquarium as well, along with some glass stones which i also washed. i also added a little terra-cotta pot for them to crawl all over and hide in. the first couple of nights, snails would sleep inside of it, but now it’s old news to them and they just ignore it. i use a spray bottle to regularly mist the aquarium, as snails like their homes to be a little moist. i keep a shallow water dish in their home. it’s important to keep it shallow because snails can drown.

if you are going to get a giant african land snail, there are some different requirements, like a heat mat and a larger tank.

food

for feeding, i highly recommend using a mandoline like this one to prepare food for your snails. it makes thin slices that are easy for them to eat. my snails love carrot the most, but they are also fond of kale, asparagus, and mushrooms. all snaily food should be sliced into a little snaily size!!!

foods that snails can eat:

apple

banana

beans

blueberries

fish food soaked in water

mango

romaine lettuce

potato

dandelion leaves

strawberries (mine are not fond of strawberries, but many snails are!)

plum

cauliflower

cherries

watermelon

tomato

mushrooms

raisins

turnips

cabbage

basil

cuttlebone

boiled egg

and more! google will be your friend.

foods that you shouldn’t feed snails:

salt

salty foods

avocado

onion

grapefruit

lime

lemon

leeks

spinach

rhubarb

parsley

celery

tips about feeding:

the darker the greens, the better! darker greens like kale have more chlorophyll which makes it healthier and more nutritious for snails (and humans!)

avoid cucumber. snails love cucumber, but sometimes they love it so much that they become “picky eaters” and will only want to eat cucumber.

have a designated eating area, above the ground. this makes clean up easier. plus, snails will learn where to go if they are hungry.

wash food before feeding. snails have survival instincts that will keep them from eating food treated with pesticides or chemicals. a lot of our food has those, so always give the food a nice rinse before preparing it

feed your snails once a day, and remove any food that they didn’t eat the next day.

give them clean water each day. they like to bathe, and sometimes the water can fill up with dirt, poop, or even slime. it’s just nice to replenish their water every day.

feed snails, especially babies, a variety of foods each day. otherwise they can become fussy eaters. snail babies who are introduced to many foods opposed to just one or two are healthier and live longer.

notice a soft shell? your snails need more calcium!!

acquiring snails

i adopted my little garden snails from… a garden. i think looking for snails in nature is fun and a Good Time. i haven’t purchased a snail online (yet), but i know there are a few websites, and even shops on ebay, that sell snails. snails are social dudes that like having friends so probably buy more than one.

the snails are HERE

⚡️always wash your hands thoroughly before and after handling snails!! ⚡️

snails have personalities. some are shy while others are little party people. if your snail is not coming out of his shell, don’t worry. try massaging their foot or lightly spraying them with water. give them some time to adjust to their new crib.

if you notice any eggs in the soil, crush them or boil them or freeze them, unless you want hundreds of little cute baby snails that you cannot practically care for but will inevitably become emotionally attached to.

if your snail bubbles up when you try to touch or hold them, don’t worry, they are not dying. this is what snails do when they are anxious. just give your snails some time to get used to you.

one thing i’ve noticed, at least with my snails, is that they will immediately try to escape their new home before settling in. i imagine it like a human being locked in a luxury hotel. at first, they’ll try to get out, because that’s the instinct… but once they realize they’re stuck in there for a while, they’ll probably take advantage of all the amenities like the food and the pool and everything else.

your snail friends will learn who you are and recognize you by your scent. snails are good little sniffers. i’ve had snails who love to be held and pet by me, but bubble up when held by anyone else.

if a snail is sticky-stuck to something, DONT pull on their shell!!! slide the snail along the glass and eventually they will let go. if you must lift a snail, lift from their head because that is the stickiest part and less likely to hurt.

be sure to clean the tank at least once a week.

bonding with the snail dudes

my snails love me. i’m sure your snails will love you as well. at first, they might be scared of you, but soon they’ll recognize you as the big warm thing that gives them food and love. once your snail is comfy with you and likes to crawl on your hand, try petting them. start by gently petting their shell. they love it. you can also gently stroke their little bodies and heads, but don’t poke their eyes please. it hurts them and makes them sad. if you accidentally poke em, don’t worry too much, they’ll forgive you.

SNAILS LOVE CLIMBING. ok this is probably my favorite thing that snails do. when holding a snail, try to putting a finger or two directly above their head. they will get really excited and CLIMB UP ONTO YOUR FINGERS. they just love climbing. one of my little snails, rocco, loves climbing the most. he will lift up his entire head and body in hopes that i will give him a finger to climb on. when i put him back in the tank, he will immediately climb wherever he can, especially onto another snail. be attentive. snails sometimes get really excited about climbing. rocco has fallen off of my hand from trying to climb when there wasn’t anything to climb on.

there is nothing cuter than a snail drinking out of a sink. while i opt to give my snails bottled water 99% of the time, i can’t resist letting them drink tap water every now and then because it is so cute. take your (awake) snail to the sink. turn it on so it is barely running, but not just dripping. have it warm or lukewarm if you can. put your hand close to water. your snail will be very confused for a moment, but then they will drink and shower under the water. it is very good.

cute and good snail quirks

when a snail decides they want to go somewhere, they GO. they don’t rly understand the concept of going around things, they just GO. so, when a snail wants to go, they will climb over literally anything in the way, whether it be the entire water dish, a pile of food, or another snail who is trying to eat or sleep… the snail will just GO until they get to THE THING.

snails are a little dumb. they will learn where the food and water is, and they will get very confused if they go to the spot and there is no food/water. i have come home to find a snail just sitting in the empty water dish, waiting for the water to show up. it’s cute.

i’ve been holding a snail as i’ve typed this and the little dude FELL ASLEEP on my HAND. he trusts me!!!! he trusts me to keep him safe and to stop him from falling. oh my goodness, live tweet, he is just now waking up. he is peeping his little eyes out. i love this snail.

snails can’t hear… but i still tell them i love them bc i need to vocalize it.

snails are most active at night and will eat/drink the most then.

snails keep all their important organs in their shell, so don’t try to remove it or paint it!!

Some more Caligula pics, now that he’s settled down..! He has so many different hues of blue on him…from like–dark purple-blue to bright turquoise..!  Bonus!: