Question on Caramel's behavior

[kdizzle]

I just recently got a Caramel BP male who is acting "strange." What I mean by strange is that when I have him out and am handling him, he tends to go upside down a lot (when going around my hand). This is behavior I haven't seen in my other ball pythons and wondered if it was something I needed to worry about. I also have caught him in the cage with his head twisted and upside down. If anyone can help or give suggestions it would be greatly appreciated. I hope you can understand what i'm trying to say, kind of hard to explain. If I can get a picture I will post. THANKS!

[kdizzle]

Here is the picture of him. Someone has told me its just the Caramel gene, but I would like some other opinions.

[MarkieJ]

Corkscrewing/wobbling is more typical behaviors for the Spider morph. I haven't heard about that being the case for Caramels. Caramels are known for their kinking... How long have you had him, and did the seller make you aware of its behavior?

Check out this link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zA4lBpoPIWY

Is this what your Caramel does?

[AMBiEN22]

I'm no expert but i have seen peoples spiders do this, They call it the wobble i am sure others will pick this thread up really fast. As i have heard its not something to worry about. in some cases you cannot notice it and others like your case its noticeable. If I'm correct the snake is not in any pain, i feel like its if our motor receptors got blocked we'd do the same thing cannot tell whats up and whats down... But again i'm not expert and i am sure some one will pounce on this thread.

[SK_Exotics]

History is in the making...

[kdizzle]

Corkscrewing/wobbling is more typical behaviors for the Spider morph. I haven't heard about that being the case for Caramels. Caramels are known for their kinking... How long have you had him, and did the seller make you aware of its behavior?

Check out this link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zA4lBpoPIWY

Is this what your Caramel does?

Yes! This is the exact behavior. He only does it when he's out and moving around. All other times he is nice and snug under his hide.

I've only had him a week, and the seller is a local reptile store that breeds their own snakes. Since I have a good rapport with the owner, when asked, he said that it was genetic and is common in spiders. I just wanted another opinion as he is not a spider and I just got him.

Thanks for your help!

[angllady2]

It is a wobble, just like spiders do.

While very prevalent in spiders, it pops up in other morphs and normals as well. Occasionally it's genetic like with spiders, more often it's caused by extreme overheating or trauma.

As long as the snake can eat, shed and function normally, it isn't anything to worry about. Since the animal in question is a caramel, I would lean towards it not being genetic, so I wouldn't cancel any future breeding plans just yet.

Can you talk to the original breeder of this animal ? If you can, find out if any of it's clutchmates also do this. If not, it was probably an accident of husbandry. If they do, I would start suspecting it is genetic, and if it is I personally would not breed it, but that's your decision and not mine.

Gale

[Stewart_Reptiles]

Is it gonna be a problem? Not if he can eat and thrive.

Cause? Hard to tell! Can be genetic, chemical exposure, overheating

[coldbloodaddict]

I've seen a few Caramels like this over the years.