Let's discuss the "Wobble Head" Neurological disorder ..

[T_Sauer]

There are many different views on this disorder, some people don't mind it, some can't stand it, some think it's cute. Some people go as far as to totally refuse to take in the spider gene because of it.

During some previous research I found out there have also been cases of wobblehead in Womas and another gene that I can't recall at the moment.

What has sparked my interest in starting this thread is that I have noticed an alarming increase in the frequency and severity of wobble/corkscrewing an adult Honey Bee male of mine. I first noticed it was getting more intense two sheds ago, I walked in the room one day and there was a thumping and thrashing coming from his tub that you would have thought there were two males in there duking it out! I slide his tub out to find out what all the commotion was about and he had shed but had some stuck shed on his head and dangling from his neck. He was doing laps around his tub like Mario Andrette, in very fast snapping bursts just like combative behavior .... I passed it off as him trying to get the stuck shed off as it was driving him crazy. This has since happened twice, once while he was paired with a female I had paired him with successfully three times in the weeks prior, and another time when he was in his own tub. (Neither of those two times were in unison with a shed as the first) ... Also just observing him I have noticed a vastly increased amount of corkscrewing and restlessness than what I have seen from him in the past year.

I started this thread in hopes of shared stories of this disorder, discussion on what some of the rest of you may have thru your own personal experience or have found in your own research on Wobblehead and corkscrewing such
as increased frequency as the snake ages, if it has been noticed or noted that certain things such as feeding or breeding or what not seem to trigger a more intense wobble or corkscrewing behavior.

Thanks in advance to any and all that participate.

[OhhWatALoser]

Spider, Woma, Hidden Gene Woma, Champagne, Super Sable, and Powerball have been reported to have the wobble.

From the multiple people I have talked to to, it appears to have random frequency and severity at any age. So far no one has shown any link to the parent's frequency or severity passing to the offspring. However people have reported increase severity during handling or feeding. I have seen cases where the severity could be reduced by offering the snake a lower stress environment. So from what I have put together, stress or excitement plays a factor in the severity of it, but it is not the end all factor.

[Stewart_Reptiles]

Spider, Woma, Hidden Gene Woma, Champagne, Super Sable, and Powerball have been reported to have the wobble.

From the multiple people I have talked to to, it appears to have random frequency and severity at any age. So far no one has shown any link to the parent's frequency or severity passing to the offspring. However people have reported increase severity during handling or feeding. I have seen cases where the severity could be reduced by offering the snake a lower stress environment. So from what I have put together, stress or excitement plays a factor in the severity of it, but it is not the end all factor.

This

Another thing that affect wobble is temperatures.

[frostysBP]

I have two spider females and both have different triggers for the wobble that I have noticed. My spider2300 g female show no signs of wobble while handling. But as soon as she goes into feed mode stand back because she go nuts. Head goes sideways and she allway miss the first few strikes. She is very unpredictable and my least favorite to feed. She hasn't tagged me yet but as come close way to many time(she was in the face height tub of my rack) she has bit and clamped on to the tote multiple times and nbot let go... now my 500g girl will start to wobble a lot when startled(loud noises, fast movements) her feed mode is not as bad as the big girl tho.

[Lizardlicks]

So far my lesser bee girl's wobble is almost non-existent, but she's only at 250g. We'll see how she progresses as she ages.

[Jhill001]

Has this always happened with this morph or is it due to in-breeding?

[Daigga]

Has this always happened with this morph or is it due to in-breeding?

I have said before but the simple fact is that wobble gene to wobble gene pairings is often fatal in offspring, or at the very least rumored to be. Because of all these stories, these genes are probably the least inbred of all ball python genes. you don't breed spider to spider, you don't breed champagne to champagne, etc. There are a very small handful of offspring that have survived, certainly not enough to throw back into the gene pool with any effect.

Because of this I think it's safe to reasonably say it's the genes themselves, not the methods of the breeders.

Edit:
Consider me super offended if anyone tries to insinuate to me that my Giovanni (lesser bee) or Dizzy (bumblebee) are abominations because they have spider in them or that I'm a terrible person for planning on breeding them (not to each other obviously).

[IsmQui718]

Has this always happened with this morph or is it due to in-breeding?

It's actually tied to those genes itself. However, someone who's more qualified to give more information about this can hopefully do so on this thread. There are quite a few threads on here discussing it.

I have a male Spinner Blast (Pastel/Pinstripe/spider) who's 190 gms and has a mild form of it that's apparent when excited. Particularly during feeding time. I also have a 220 gm Spider who's all over the place during feeding. His aiming can be off during feeding, so I just drop the f/t rat in, and he takes it with now issue. I also feed all my BPs with 30" feeding tongs as well (just for added measure).

It's to my understanding that snakes with a mild wobble can produce offspring with a severe wobble and vice-versa. Not sure about the other morphs, but the vast majority of BPs with the spider gene have some form of the wobble. It's just not always apparent.


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[Stewart_Reptiles]

Has this always happened with this morph or is it due to in-breeding?

No it is not due to inbreeding, the original spider was like that and it cannot be bred out, all spiders and their combos wobble to a degree, spiders are probably one of the most outbred gene out there.

[anicatgirl]

Edit:
Consider me super offended if anyone tries to insinuate to me that my Giovanni (lesser bee) or Dizzy (bumblebee) are abominations because they have spider in them or that I'm a terrible person for planning on breeding them (not to each other obviously).

I HOPE no one does. That'd just be rude!

If something I happened to do triggered my snake to corkscrew or freak out I would feel sooo bad I know it's just a genetics thing though and I have very little experience with the wobbly morphs, but some of those bees are super cute! So as long as it doesn't interfere with quality of life, then that's just how unique the snake is