Normal BP with slight head wobble ? Anyone seen this

[gittarzann]

I just bought a few Normal BP's from a local seller. The owner (was his daughter and is off to college), and the dad was selling them for her(I guess or without her knowledge).

I checked them over carefully and everything seemed OK. I brought them home and put them in an isolated area for observation. I have noticed more than one with slight head wobbles.

These are mostly young snakes (this years hatch) and the caretaker told me they haven't been fed since around October (because they were in cool down?).

I have gotten a couple of them to eat rat pinkies, but not all have taken food yet.

Should I be concerned..are these little guys starving and too weak to eat and hold their heads up? Other than the little wobble they seem OK..the little ones aren't very active...the larger snakes seem totally normal.

Any help would be appreciated.

[meowmeowkazoo]

I'm not surprised. Ball pythons don't have a "cool down" phase, and the little ones are probably not doing too well. Larger ball pythons can go awhile without food, but smaller ones need to be fed often.

The wobble could be from malnourishment, or it could be from neurological damage. It could also be from a disease, so make sure you keep them all quarantined.

Make sure they all have fresh water at all times, and keep offering food. Make sure they have a hot spot of 90 degrees, and that the cool side stays around 80 degrees. Make sure they all have hides. Make sure the humidity is around 60%.

Try not to handle them too much, as they will need several days to settle into their new home. Handling could cause them stress, which could cause them not to eat.

[gittarzann]

Thank you for the advice mmk !

I am hoping the entire episode is the cool down and lack of feeding, but I am not ruling out worse possibilities. The collection included 3 adult and 2 sub adult BP's none of which show any signs of distress wobble etc.

The sad part is the snakes were in a Freedom Rack with built in heat (unplugged though) onsite rat breeding setup with pinkies, pups, fuzzies etc.

I am going to keep a close eye on them, try to warm everyone up and get some food in their bellies.