stargazing

my ball sometimes look like shes stargazing but than when i go look at her she goes and hides her head back down & flicks her tongue, do balls naturally stargaze?

does she do it in the middle of the tank or along the side? Stargazing was only found in boas i thought....

she was on the side not like going up the side of the tank or anything, and no i had a ball that died from it before i even got to feed her :(

Is she a Spider or a woma or a combo of either of them? If she is she's probably just a slight wobble. nothing to really worry about. if it is IBD get her away from all your other boas/pythons because it will take your collection away from you very quickly. or it just can be one of the weird things ball do:D
Best of luck
Try to take a video of it if you can.
Tom

Wait what?/??

Serpent fan- stargazing is a term used to describe pythons and boa that have IBD(Inclusion Body Disease) which is believed to be caused by a retrovirus. it is terminal:( and can spread as fast as mites. where as spiders/womas and some of the combos of them wobble when excited, usually its mild and only appears when feeding other times they do spirals all over the tank and look like a corkscrew. youtube stargazing and spider wobble and you you will see plenty of videos of them both.
Tom

Just did :(

Was she stargazing or just trying to smell/see out of the lid. I know when I had mine in tanks and they had more headroom, I would see them sticking straight up in the air, usually looking for an escape route.

sent from my EVO

Could she have been periscoping?

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Originally Posted by jbean7916

Was she stargazing or just trying to smell/see out of the lid. I know when I had mine in tanks and they had more headroom, I would see them sticking straight up in the air, usually looking for an escape route.

sent from my EVO

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Yup, mine did this in tanks. Not so much in tubs. However, spider gene can cause wobble, wierdo "stargazing".

Mine do that sometimes. Stare at the "roof" of their tubs for 10 seconds or so then go back to doing whatever. Seems normal to me.

shes not a spider shes a normal ball , she doesnt do it constantly i mean i do believe she is gonna shed here soon and she hasnt ate in two weeks cause she wont feed so maybe she was just looking for food or being curious , as soon as i went over to the aquarium or open the doors she goes back to normal and hides her head lol and flicks her tongue

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Originally Posted by cmack91

Could she have been periscoping?

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what is this?

I think he means when the snake is laying flat, and raises just his heard up, but still looking forward

Hi,

Stargazing is only really a sure thing if the snake does it for long periods and often - or has its mouth open while doing so.

It's perfectly normal for them to look up to see whats happening now and again - especially if your tank opens from above. :)


dr del

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Originally Posted by steffa

what is this?

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Its awesomness lol


http://ball-pythons.net/forums/showt...ght=Periscopes

Periscoping is a natural behaviour that is used by royals in the wild looking over top of grass or obstacles. It is also super cute.

Stargazing that is not just exploring but actually an issue is VERY dramatic and looks like something is HORRIBLY wrong (it is actually horribly wrong.) It can be caused by IBD (that is very poorly understood in pythons) and a handful of other neurological issues. Things like poisoning to viral infections all can be a reason behind stargazing. It is not something you will mistake it looks seriously unnatural and just wrong.

thanks that gives me relief i lost my person python to IBD and i was devastated , she seems fine a little cranky cause she is going to shed and she feels mushy lol and she does raise her head and neck up but only for a few seconds as soon as i go over she curls her head back and hides lol and flicks her tongue im just a worry wort and am very attached to her

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Originally Posted by steffa

what is this?

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This:

http://ball-pythons.net/forums/showt...ur-periscopers

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Originally Posted by steffa

thanks that gives me relief i lost my person python to IBD and i was devastated , she seems fine a little cranky cause she is going to shed and she feels mushy lol and she does raise her head and neck up but only for a few seconds as soon as i go over she curls her head back and hides lol and flicks her tongue im just a worry wort and am very attached to her

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You lost what to IBD?

my old ball python never even had her to know her:( weill im not sure if iwas IBD but she was doing the whole cork screw think

Its normal in all snakes, They do it looking around and can hold the postion for long time.

Its normal

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Originally Posted by steffa

my old ball python never even had her to know her:( weill im not sure if iwas IBD but she was doing the whole cork screw think

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Poisoning is more likely. You should do a careful check of your enclosure and surrounding area and any and all chemicals you use in that space just to make sure that they are all safe to use near reptiles and they are being used correctly.

IBD is a fairly rare in pythons there is a researcher in the states Dr. Jacobson and Dr. Chang working with it. They are looking for confirmed cases of IBD in pythons. I believe they would be very interested in cadavers. They are also doing IBD testing I believe it is a good idea to have testing done. There is some evidence to suggest it can may lay dormant for many years.

i dont use any chemicals im very careful of that i wash my hands before and after holding her,
and i spray down the terriam almost daily because its hard to keep humindy and the temps are perfect plus im a little more cautious and informed :):p