Possible sickness, very concerned

[M.C.757]

Hi all, Iv posted here before and always get excellent feedback, so thanks for that before I start.

I believe my BP may have an illness and I want some help determining it.

When he is active at nighttime, he does very strange things.. he moves around and sudden stops, then keeps going then stops again. Almost like he fatigued from moving around a small bit.

It also seems like he’s “stargazing” as well.. I understand this to be a death sentence for a BP or a boa. He will looks straight up and almost try to crawl on the ceiling of the enclosure. Iv seen stargazing videos before and it’s not quite as dramatic but it still spooks me.


I can’t upload video clips of this, so I can only describe it to you all as best as I can.

Does anybody else’s pythons have similar behavior?

Please help.. he’s my first ever snake, plus I have three more that I don’t want to be sick. Any feedback is welcome.




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[Bogertophis]

Without seeing him, I'd have to say try not to worry. It's human nature to read up on illnesses & start "seeing" them in ourselves or others...it happens to many
who study to practice medicine quite often. Same thing with our pets. Back to your BP...snakes are not marathon runners...they aren't built for lots of exertion.
When he stops, is he flicking his tongue? They have a super sense of smell, & it's quite possible that's why he is stopping...catching a few molecules of rodent
scent from a previous meal, or some new smell in his substrate. Many perfectly normal snakes do look up & try to escape thru the top of the cage...especially if
there is a vent there or a screen top. They are fascinated by "what else is out there?" and if allowed to roam on the floor* I've seen snakes unerringly head for
the sliding glass door where there was the tiniest bit of fresh air coming in around the cracks of the closed door. (*don't do this in winter...it's chilly on the floor
most likely, & btw, that wasn't a BP either, but snakes will be snakes...)

So...some other things you can check:
If you gently turn him over onto his back, can he turn over easily?
When you pick him up, does he seem dizzy & uncoordinated? Can he hang onto a branch (or towel bar, etc)? And be careful, don't let him fall if he cannot do this.