Ball Python acting funny?

Ok, so I have had my BP for about 6 months or so now, can't remember exactly. But recently, he started acting funny.
He's been a problem fromt he start. At first he would only eat live, and it took me about a month of refusing to give him anything but frozen before he switched.

Then just recently, he started almost rocking back and forth. I am not quite sure how to explain it. But when he reaches his neck out to strike, or to investigate, he waves back and forth really hard. Also, when feeding, for some reason he almost always misses when he strikes. Except when he's aiming at me. Then he hits dead on :/
Any idea whats going on?

He's currently in a 20 gallon tank, with a UTH. I use paper as substrate now because a month and a half ago I want to say, I had a mite infestation. There gone now, but keeping them on paper since I got it from aspen.

Does this happen when feeding? How are you warming up your feeders?

Is the UTH being regulated by a thermostat? If not I garnered that it is getting way too hot.

Also is this a normal ball python or a morph like a spider maybe?

Its most visible when feeding. I mean with the miss strikes and the wobble when reaching for the mouse, but when he is being handled, or just cruising, he is very almost like jolty? I don't know how to explain it. Its almost like he twitches when he moves, and then reaching his head up it sways back and forth really bad.

He is a normal BP, no morph. I have his brother also who shows no problems at all.

The heating thing he has, I'm not sure what kind it is. I bought the tank with it already on it from a reptile show. Its clear, and sticks on. Its supposed to be permanent, which Id idn't realize til AFTER I took it off when I did a deep cleaning for the mite problem.
But anyway, on his warm side, with my temp gun, he sits at about 88-94. 94 being right next to his climbing branches.

Another note though, as I went to take the temps, he does still have a slight mite problem. If ound two in hiswater bowl I just changed last night, so I reprayed the tank.

But any clue whats going on with him? Should I be worried since I have 5 other snakes?

What are you using to treat the mites with?

What are you using to treat the mites with?

It sounds like a reaction to the mite treatment you are using.

What are you using and how are you treating ?

Gale

what are you using to treat the mites with:cool:????
spooky

I'm using Natural Chemistry Reptile Spray. I found it at Petco. (Yes I know, not smart choice, but I was broke and scared)

I wouldn't have thought it was the mite treatment though, as I have used it on all my snakes. I had 4 out of 6 of my snakes infested with mites from some bad aspen. My king was the worst. I used the spray on all of them, and made sure to use a small amount. Plus, I haven't used it on him beside right now, in about 2 or 3 weeks. Reason is, I thought they were all gone, but Aries is the only one left with them.

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Originally Posted by Whitney Scheib

Its most visible when feeding. I mean with the miss strikes and the wobble when reaching for the mouse, but when he is being handled, or just cruising, he is very almost like jolty? I don't know how to explain it. Its almost like he twitches when he moves, and then reaching his head up it sways back and forth really bad.

He is a normal BP, no morph. I have his brother also who shows no problems at all.

The heating thing he has, I'm not sure what kind it is. I bought the tank with it already on it from a reptile show. Its clear, and sticks on. Its supposed to be permanent, which Id idn't realize til AFTER I took it off when I did a deep cleaning for the mite problem.
But anyway, on his warm side, with my temp gun, he sits at about 88-94. 94 being right next to his climbing branches.

Another note though, as I went to take the temps, he does still have a slight mite problem. If ound two in hiswater bowl I just changed last night, so I reprayed the tank.

But any clue whats going on with him? Should I be worried since I have 5 other snakes?

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It doesn't matter what type of heater it is. It needs to be plugged into a thermostat. I agree with the others that this is probably related to the mite treatment. S

Also, Aries has the most ventilated cage out of all of them. I would think that the ones with the tubs or wooden cages would get a reaction before him, so just seems strange to me.

could be that that snake just dont jive with the spray? i dunno, id like to hear other thoughts. does it just sit alone and do this, or does it act like this only when you feed, or touch?
thanks
spooky

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Originally Posted by mr.spooky

could be that that snake just dont jive with the spray? i dunno, id like to hear other thoughts. does it just sit alone and do this, or does it act like this only when you feed, or touch?
thanks
spooky

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Well its most noticeable at feeding time, and sometimes when I hold him. But I watch him in his cage, and he has climbing branches, and sometimes he will climb up on them to investigate the top of his cage and you can see the swaying quite visibly. A bad reaction could make sense, as I cant say I noticed it before using the spray, but I just wanted to double check it wasn't serious. He still eats, drinks, and poops, so I haven't taken him to a vet yet. Plus, I have to save right now to take my boa to the vet since he hasn't eaten in 3 months and is losing weight.

Do you have a way to take a video of what's going on with him? Maybe if someone saw it first hand they would be able to pinpoint it better:confused:

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I997 using Tapatalk

I've used the same mite spray for years and have never had a problem, so I am wondering if he is over heating. I didn't see you respond with using a thermostat, so perhaps this is the culprit??

No, I don't have a thermostat. But I have checked his temps, and his UTH is going out, so some spots are warmer then others. The hottest point in his cage, is under his branches, where he can't get to, and its 93. The rest of the warm spots, where his hide are, range from 84-89. Yes, I AM going to get a new UTH, as I just discovered this problem tonight for the first time. Its from me taking it off the tank, when I had to steam the tank to kill the mites. Its old also, as it came with the tank. So yes, I will be asking around and seeing if I can get a new UTH.

But, on another note, I doubt he is overheating, as he has spent alot of time in his water dish because of the mites. He just went into his hide for the first time in about 2 weeks that I have seen, since I put a new and bigger one in for him.

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Originally Posted by Whitney Scheib

No, I don't have a thermostat. But I have checked his temps, and his UTH is going out, so some spots are warmer then others. The hottest point in his cage, is under his branches, where he can't get to, and its 93. The rest of the warm spots, where his hide are, range from 84-89. Yes, I AM going to get a new UTH, as I just discovered this problem tonight for the first time. Its from me taking it off the tank, when I had to steam the tank to kill the mites. Its old also, as it came with the tank. So yes, I will be asking around and seeing if I can get a new UTH.

But, on another note, I doubt he is overheating, as he has spent alot of time in his water dish because of the mites. He just went into his hide for the first time in about 2 weeks that I have seen, since I put a new and bigger one in for him.

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The problem isn't that your UTH is broken, because it's not. They all just get too hot. Most also will have hotter spots and cooler spots. If you won't/can't get a thermostat you really should just use a heat lamp. Yes it will kill your humidity but an unregulated UTH can kill your snake.

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Originally Posted by The Serpent Merchant

The problem isn't that your UTH is broken, because it's not. They all just get too hot. Most also will have hotter spots and cooler spots. If you won't/can't get a thermostat you really should just use a heat lamp. Yes it will kill your humidity but an unregulated UTH can kill your snake.

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The reason I assumed it was broken, is because before I removed it, it had a basically even heat gradient. A few degrees across, but not that bad. All of my other snakes are hooked up on a rheostat, with frequent temp checks, but this one isn't. I have a heat lamp, but it makes even my 40 gallon breeder go 100+ degrees, I would be roasting him alive if I put it on a 20 gallon tank. I'll look around and see if I have stuff to hook up a rheostat until friday when I can get a thermostat

Its not the spray,

Any snake can exhibit the spider wobble regardless. If could of been chemical exposure like air freshner,bleach,pesticide,hair spray,cologne, over heated, egg rolled during incubation causing neurological disorder when stressed or in feeding mode.


If snake is eating, shedding and pooping, I suspect a environmental change and nothing abnormal about it.

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Originally Posted by RichsBallPythons

Its not the spray,

Any snake can exhibit the spider wobble regardless. If could of been chemical exposure like air freshner,bleach,pesticide,hair spray,cologne, over heated, egg rolled during incubation causing neurological disorder when stressed or in feeding mode.


If snake is eating, shedding and pooping, I suspect a environmental change and nothing abnormal about it.

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When I cleaned the cages after the mite infestation, I had limited chemical supplies. So what I did was turn the water the hottest it would go, then filled them about halfway, sprayed windex in the water and scrubbed them down. Then, I rinsed them out with the hot water, shaking them around to cover all sides and cracks, about 3 times. Then, fill with hot water, put lid on, and cover holes and steamed it for about 45 minutes. Then rinsed a few more times. Put everythign back in, and sprayed with the spray. I haven't cleaned them like that in about 3 weeks though. Have only used teh spray twice, including tonights time. So I'm not sure what could have caused it. I didn't notice it when we first got him, so idk. Im at a loss. But he's still acting healthy and eating, so no worry

Dont use windex inside the cage, its a chemical to clean glass not disinfect bacteria. This could be where its coming from.

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Originally Posted by RichsBallPythons

Dont use windex inside the cage, its a chemical to clean glass not disinfect bacteria. This could be where its coming from.

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Ah okay. I was told it was safe as long as I rinsed it all out...
I'll switch him to a tub tomorrow and rinse out the cage some more