Cork screwing

I have recently taken in a baby bp that was not taken care of properly. It never fed and was over handled. I have manged to get it to eat a fuzzy with assistace 2 days ago. It still has a small lump where the mouse is. It was also very dehydrated so I soaked it in water to rehydrate and am keeping its humidity a little higher. It also has minor scale rot. I was just checking on it and it started to cork screw as it was moving. Is this a sign that it is regaining its strength or the opposite, or may it just have the same defective gene that the spiders have?

whats the background on the previous setup, have any idea?

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by iCandiBallPythons

whats the background on the previous setup, have any idea?

---

You thinking IBD or neurological damage?

no, just that it was kept on some kind of dirt. I have it now on paper towel in a shoebox size bin with a hide. I also keep a towel over the bin to help with stress.

I have "heard" overheating the snake can cause corkscrewing/nuero damage.

Overheating can cause neurological problems such as wobbling/corkscrewing, I have experienced it first hand unfortunately. I lost 5 snakes to overheating and a few of the survivors were messed up for a few weeks after the malfunction. Most got better eventually, but it can be permanent. I would be more worried about IBD in this situation with the Ball though, since you don't know if it was overheated. I would keep it away from any other boas/pythons just to be on the safe side. If you can rule out IBD it could be due to overheating though.

Extreme cold and extreme heat can cause this kind of damage. If this is what it is, it may get better, or possibly worse. I would take it to the vet to rule out IBD asap, you wouldnt want your colection to have it! Most likely it is from exposure to extreme heat or cold, but just make sure its not IBD before moving from qt room to being with the rest of your collection! good luck

I have not had it anywhere near my collection. However it is in the same room with my incubator, but I don't think IBD can transfer through styrofoam to the eggs, correct me if I am wrong. I did notice for theshort time I have had this pythin it would constantly seek the cold end of the tank even though its hot side was 91f. Ths cool side was 85f. It never did digest the mouse, after 3 days there was still a lump and it had only eaten a fuzzy. I am now thinking the cork screwing was becuase it was so close to death as it did pass away over night. It makes me so angry at whoever owned this snake before. I had a friend aquire it from the previous owner and he gave it to me to see if I could help it as he is not as eperienced with bps as I am. Anyhow I did what I could for it but I think it was so starved that its body no longer had enough strength to even digest its meal.

:tears: Sorry dear. It does suck to see animals suffer at the hands of a person. On the bright side, he is no longer suffering. We can only hope, what goes around comes around.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by snakesrkewl

i have "heard" overheating the snake can cause corkscrewing/nuero damage.

---

x2

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Kryptonian

I have not had it anywhere near my collection. However it is in the same room with my incubator, but I don't think IBD can transfer through styrofoam to the eggs, correct me if I am wrong. I did notice for theshort time I have had this pythin it would constantly seek the cold end of the tank even though its hot side was 91f. Ths cool side was 85f. It never did digest the mouse, after 3 days there was still a lump and it had only eaten a fuzzy. I am now thinking the cork screwing was becuase it was so close to death as it did pass away over night. It makes me so angry at whoever owned this snake before. I had a friend aquire it from the previous owner and he gave it to me to see if I could help it as he is not as eperienced with bps as I am. Anyhow I did what I could for it but I think it was so starved that its body no longer had enough strength to even digest its meal.

---

Thats why I was asking about the background of the snakes previous enclosure, I was curious about what type of heating element that was used as I was thinking this was something neurological caused by possible overheating before it came into your care.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by snakesRkewl

I have "heard" overheating the snake can cause corkscrewing/nuero damage.

---

Many things can cause neurological symptoms or behavior that mimics them - bacterial infections, viruses, exposure to chemicals, excessive heat, excessive cooling, something irritating the top of the head, mites, general malaise, repeated regurges, dehydration, etc, etc.

That behavior in itself is not indicative of anything. You said the snake was dehydrated when you got it and suffering from scale rot, stress and general poor care.

In other words, you may have answered your own question. Hydrate it, treat it's ailments and get it healthy. Then if it continues to present with neurological symptoms you can strike a couple out of a dozen potential ailments off the list.