Re: Do the other spider morphs "wobble and spin" as well?
Quote:
Originally Posted by
hammerhead
http://youtube.com/watch?v=UOk4HDSY2xE
Take a look at that vid. I think it shows what a spider's spinning head looks like. I am not too sure tho since the Bp is feeding and the spinning might be just from that.
This is my video, Mr. Wibbles is my spider, so I can speak to this somewhat.
Above, dsirkle describes it perfectly using words I've chosen before: it's like he has Parkinson's. Some days are worse than others. He rarely performs for the camera, but then again, I'm not trying anymore. It's not the same for all spiders and some are consistently worse than others, but here's a description of how the defect manifests itself in Mr. Wibbles.
When feeding: About 30% of the time, Mr. Wibbles misses his mark by a good 90 degree angle. This will occasionally result in him slapping his head against the side of the tub. Sometimes he misses a second time. I think the striking action really takes it out of him, because the third strike has no force at all to it, no gusto at all, but I help him out by putting the rat practically right on his nose, and he just wraps it from there. He has a hardy appetite and has never passed up a meal.
When handling: Handling is when it shows up the most. Simply turning him upside down usually results in a slow recovery to upright position, and even then he doesn't exactly choose the path of least resistance. He'll twist his head around to upright and only later figure out the whole body needs to turn, so he flops his head back upside down and does it correctly the second go-round. When he explores his little head flops left and right, but he corrects it just fine. It's worst when he's excited (as with a feeding strike); once he settles down, you can't tell he's a wobbler at all.
When on his own in his tub: I'll put it this way: when I enter my reptile room, all I can hear is the white noise of the humidifiers. But as soon as it's dinner time, I occasionally hear tiny little bumping noises coming from the second slot from the top of my Jason's Jungle 5-slot adult rack.
My opinion? The wobble head defect does not appear to be a quality of life issue for Mr. Wibbles. He eats well, sheds perfectly, and handles nicely. He thermoregulates like all my other balls. He's growing like a weed. He's active at night and sleeps by day, just like any other BP. He does not appear to lead a tortured existence.
That being said, I would consider his case mild to moderate. I've seen pictures of more severe cases and it doesn't look good. Lots of loops and spirals and stuff, like the snakes are desperate for a visit to the chiropractor or something. Not Mr. Wibbles. He's handi-capable, and to be honest, it's somewhat endearing. He's a keeper.
