Handling Your Spider

So, this may seem a bit odd, 2 days ago I finally picked up my mojave, spider and a normal female.

I knew all the info about spiders, but never witnessed it in front of me. Took me back a bit. What really took me back was handling her, it was really weird and not sure how to explain it. She definitely has a wobble. I was holding her and she must've been really excited and she started wobbling in my hands to the point where I almost dropped her. Has anyone had any problems or issues related to handling there spider ball pythons? Is this one snake people just prefer not too handle or do you just adjust?

Not sure if it's an odd question to everyone but it's one I thought I could ask here. :)

Thanks!

Mike

I think it is an excellent question and I'll be interested to see the replies. I don't have a spider (yet), so I can't really contribute.

I've definitely noticed a difference in behavior between my spider and the rest of my collection. He feeds great and does everything normally but there are little quirks you will notice.

Their movements are just slightly different when they're on the ground (upwards tilt to head), but I think you can definitely notice it more when they are being held. I believe something is going on with their orientation when being suspended in the air vs having the belly completely against a flat object.

I've never had my spider wobble so bad that I almost drop him, but I can see how they're just not as suave when it comes to navigating from a suspended in air position.

Aside from the occasional missed strike during feeding time I don't think it affects him much. I never noticed anything dramatic just the slight nuances. All this stuff depends on the severity of the wobble in the animal.

I have a male and a female spider and they are totally different! My male wobbles pretty good and my female has no noticeable wobble at all. My male corksrews when being held and seems to always try to go upside down. He is a bit hard to handle sometimes but they settle a little bit after awhile. When my wife holds him he just lays there with her and is fine! It is just something in their genetics and was told it will Never go away but it will be a little less noticeable once they get some more weight to them. Mine was pretty bad when I frist got him but has settled down pretty good within a few weeks.

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Originally Posted by Spaniard

Their movements are just slightly different when they're on the ground (upwards tilt to head), but I think you can definitely notice it more when they are being held. I believe something is going on with their orientation when being suspended in the air vs having the belly completely against a flat object.

I've never had my spider wobble so bad that I almost drop him, but I can see how they're just not as suave when it comes to navigating from a suspended in air position.

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I think that must be it, the direction she takes sometimes is unpredictable. The person I purchased her from did advise me that it does get a bit weird at feeding time.

In addition to what Blong said, wobbles can get either better or worst with age. There is nothing to say that all spiders with wobbles will have reduced symptoms with age or weight. Some animals go from having a slight wobble to much more dramatic issues in adulthood. Someone please correct me if I'm wrong.

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Originally Posted by BLong7211

I have a male and a female spider and they are totally different! My male wobbles pretty good and my female has no noticeable wobble at all. My male corksrews when being held and seems to always try to go upside down. He is a bit hard to handle sometimes but they settle a little bit after awhile. When my wife holds him he just lays there with her and is fine! It is just something in their genetics and was told it will Never go away but it will be a little less noticeable once they get some more weight to them. Mine was pretty bad when I frist got him but has settled down pretty good within a few weeks.

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Yea, I think it might be the case for mine as well. She didn't even go in her hide for about 24 hrs after bringing her home. The other 2 snakes went right away but she was out and about wondering around, corkscrewing but now she has since went in her hide.

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Originally Posted by piper

Yea, I think it might be the case for mine as well. She didn't even go in her hide for about 24 hrs after bringing her home. The other 2 snakes went right away but she was out and about wondering around, corkscrewing but now she has since went in her hide.

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Yeah mine is alot better after having him a few weeks but still the corkscrewing when held but not nything like before at all. But during the first feed he was so bad that I thought he was dying the way he was flipping around and swallowing from his back. Here is the video I took when he first fed for me. But let me say he did NONE not one bit of any of this the second feed!

http://s711.photobucket.com/albums/w...rent=001-2.flv

Ive seen spiders corkscrew in their cages (this was from a re-saler, not a breeder). I have seen spiders that don't seem to have any issues, but if you look closely, they have a head tilt kinda like a dog when you talk to it.

I have a female spider arriving thursday morning to me, so i can post back with info on her once i get her.

I'm of the belief that ALL spiders have some form of the wobbles. Everything from just a head tilt or shake to ridiculous cage style acrobatics.

The wobble in my spider is way less when being held.He ball,s up and has very little or no wobble at all.
Mike.

I have not noticed my spider wobble in the slightest. I have noticed a slight tilt though, but nothing severe at all.
She is pretty good with handling too once she stops balling up. :P

The wobbling can be exaggerated when excited or scared. Most BP's get nervous when being held especially when younger. Adult BP's that been around people tend to calm down considerably but this varies from snake to snake.

Your spider is probably real nervous when you hold him which make him wobble more. I have had well over a dozen spiders and it varies from snake to snake. He should calm down as he gets older and gets used to being handled.

Someone once compared the wobble to Terrets syndrome in humans which gets worse when nervous, scared or excited, its not dangerous just odd behavior. I think its a good analogy.

I have a male and a female spider, both have slight wobbles..

....dont drop your snake just cause it wobbles....

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Originally Posted by Patrick Long

I have a male and a female spider, both have slight wobbles..

....dont drop your snake just cause it wobbles....

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I didn't drop the snake at all, but it was close. I didn't want to restrain her, but had to a bit because I was a bit nervous and she was very unpredictable which way she was going.

When I took her out of the plastic thing she came in to put her in her tub, she was balled up and didn't move for about 15 minutes in her tub. I could have put her anyway I wanted to and she wouldn't move.

When I hold her she tends to wobble, stiffen up a bit and wobble again than calm down.

Thanks for all the input so far! :)

Fascinating, I never heard of this issue before.

Anyone else have any input? :)

My spider doesn't wobble per se, but she does some funky twists - both in the tub and being held. She's never missed a rat though, and is one of my best feeders (if not THE best - she's not once turned down a meal in the year I have had her.) I would be a bit skeptical about breeding spiders with a severe wobble - has anyone noticed if the severity of the wobble is genetic? Or is it hit or miss - a clutch from a minor wobbler can produce severe wobblers and vice versa?

I have 2 spiders and neither wobbles well not noticeably at least. I have notice that when one of them gets scared while wrapped around my arm or whatever and she jumps and tries to hide her head like balls sometimes do. She has a tendency to invert herself while trying to hide. Maybe its just a coincidence or I could be crazy. lol.

I was not aware that the different morphs would have a play in their demeanor. Can one really anticipate a difference in behavior between morphs?

Mine wobbled a little bit for the first week of settling in ...then I only noticed it right before he struck his prey item , almost like he was concentrating to hard lol...now I dont see him doing it at all.

Mine definitely woobles (should have named him Weeble). More interesting to me is that he is much less active than my Pieds. Where they are in constant motion when out, he is very content to sit curled and watch. Although he "T"aint entirely right" in the head, he is a great snake and pet! I handle him as much as my Pieds but in a different way. I just pull him out and let him sit curled on my desk while I work. He seems content doing so.

Thanks for the input! She has calmed down drastically now.. I don't notice her corkscrewing much at all and she also does tend to sit still rather than move around. She goes in her hide a lot but is also out at different times of the day rather than just at night time.

Holding is still a bit tricky. She caught her nose slightly on my shirt and swung her head up and hit me in the nose with it! She's done that twice now.

The wobbling trait can get alot more noticeable at feeding time.

I have a male spider that wobbles a bit, but not drastically. Does anyone know if the wobble trait affects spider morphs such as bees?

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Originally Posted by Whitney

I have a male spider that wobbles a bit, but not drastically. Does anyone know if the wobble trait affects spider morphs such as bees?

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I was wondering this as well! :)

Wobbles can occur in spider combo morphs but the chances are a lot lower.