New spider question and observations

[DerekBradley]

I know there are a lot of threads on spider wobble. They are all around 2009 and older. My questions are...HaS anyone been able to breed out the wobble? Its been 7 years and I haven't seen any new info or thoughts. Also, I am wondering about this in normals. I remember in the 80s when bulk shipments of wild balls were imported, that there were normals that wobbled and had balance issues. We just thought they had health issues at the time?

[Eric Alan]

I know there are a lot of threads on spider wobble.

Yes, there are.

They are all around 2009 and older.

Nope, they're not.

My questions are...HaS anyone been able to breed out the wobble?

Nope.

Its been 7 years and I haven't seen any new info or thoughts.

Time to up your search box game! It feels like this topic comes up almost weekly. Do a search for "wobble" (http://ball-pythons.net/forums/search.php) and hundreds of threads will pop up - 5 in the last week alone.

Also, I am wondering about this in normals. I remember in the 80s when bulk shipments of wild balls were imported, that there were normals that wobbled and had balance issues. We just thought they had health issues at the time?

There are other morphs that wobble (OWAL Morph Issues List: http://www.owalreptiles.com/issues.php). Beyond those, yes, wobble can certainly happen in any ball python when there are health issues.

[DerekBradley]

Thanks for link. I had read 12 or 13 threads and hadn't seen any newer ones sorry.

[JodanOrNoDan]

Here's 2 from this week

http://ball-pythons.net/forums/showt...79#post2452479
http://ball-pythons.net/forums/showt...24#post2452124

[Eric Alan]

Thanks for link. I had read 12 or 13 threads and hadn't seen any newer ones sorry.

No need to apologize. We're here to help!

[DerekBradley]

I have read tons of the arguments. I look through the searches and that is most of what i see. I feel I was asking for new info not the ten years of arguments or descriptions of the issues or if its ethical. I am not going to give my opinion as I do not want the fights. I was just looking for some facts. But I guess the info hasn't really changed then.
I also was curious if there was more vertical climbing area like branches. So they used their neck more to develop those muscles would help some individuals without drastic wobble. Does this occur more in animals housed in racks versus larger tanks? Again I am not looking for the genetics arguements just looking to ease symptoms as some have said excitement or stress can causes it.

[JodanOrNoDan]

There are no genetic arguments on this subject any longer. Those experienced keepers that keep and or breed spiders are generally all working by the same playbook. There are only threads where these things are trying to be explained to people who don't have any experience with the morph. I believe exercise helps. Stress reduction helps more. I keep my animals in tubs so I bring my spiders out once every few days to exercise so I do not know whether the branches would help or not. Generally a happy ball python is lazy and doesn't do much so I don't know how much it would actually climb.

[OhhWatALoser]

I have read tons of the arguments. I look through the searches and that is most of what i see. I feel I was asking for new info not the ten years of arguments or descriptions of the issues or if its ethical. I am not going to give my opinion as I do not want the fights. I was just looking for some facts. But I guess the info hasn't really changed then.
I also was curious if there was more vertical climbing area like branches. So they used their neck more to develop those muscles would help some individuals without drastic wobble. Does this occur more in animals housed in racks versus larger tanks? Again I am not looking for the genetics arguements just looking to ease symptoms as some have said excitement or stress can causes it.

What info do you think was going to pop up in the last 10 years? No, strengthening muscles would not have any effect, it is pretty well documented to be a neurological issue of some sort. Changing the enclosure would only matter if one enclosure was making the animals more stressed or excited compared to the other. And you said it yourself, stress or excitement has been reported to have an effect on the issue.

[DerekBradley]

Exercise intrigues me. I agree a happy ball doesn't move much. However, everytime I go into reptile room in middle of night to see what the gargs and Cresteds are up to. The BP are active even with full bellys. I have watched them pull themselves up with their heads which seems like very good exercise. Also when observed in racks they go up six inches or however tall they are, they try to crawl the top upside down then they fall over constantly. If a animal was prone to equilibrium problems then constantly doing that is almost like shaken baby syndrome and could make it worse. Like I said I'm interested in seeing what can help alleviate symptoms. I know large cages aren't practical in breeding setups. I'm just curious if you can make the symptoms go away in large natural enclosure.

[DerekBradley]

I mean in mild cases