BP losing balance while swallowing

[JAGpenguin]

Hi there. One of my BPs loses balance while swallowing FT rats. Usually at the end of the swallowing process, my snakes would stand up but their body would still lean forward or upright. But I have one BP that would lose balance at the end of the feeding, instead of leaning forward or upright while swallowing the tail of the rat, she would lean backwards and throw her body until her body hits the wall of her enclosure and she needs to rest on said wall to maintain her balance and finish eating. Is this normal? Only 1 out of my 4 snakes does this.

Also, I have tried giving her lighter rats, just in case it is caused by the prey being to heavy, no luck.

[Bogertophis]

Does she have balance issues at other times, with other activities? If she just ate, don't handle (don't try) this right away, let her digest for at least a day or 2. But see if she has trouble righting herself when you gently pick her up & place her on her back? Does she have trouble hanging onto you (your hands/arm)?

Depending on her genetics, this balance issue might be "normal" for her, but it also might not be, so for noticing & for asking.

How long have you had this snake? What morph is she, if any? Did you get all your BPs at the same time & from the same source, or from different ones? Did you quarantine them, if not?

This might be nothing more than a strength issue- snakes neck muscles are designed to constrict prey, not to support themselves vertically, so yes, the weight of the prey might be causing this.
There's no "law" that says all snakes (even the same age) will be created equal, just like some children are stronger & grow faster than others. Hopefully this is just her "normal".

[JAGpenguin]

it is pastel mojave ghi. the snake i call BP2, you helped me with her overweight problem months ago. She has finished her quarantine. Currently at 7 months old and 440 grams.
One thing I notice also, Even if she manages to stay upright while swallowing a rat's tail, she still shakes kind of like tremors.
Also, when I soak her in water with a drop of soap, I notice that she would come up hyperventilating, it sounds like a human character in horror movies while escaping, taking a breath but very quickly. But this human like hyperventilating sound only occurs after a soak, not in normal day-to-day, I think it is not RI. Inside the mouth is also fine.
So far I have noticed no other issues regarding balance.

[Bogertophis]

So we need someone who knows BP genetics now (that's not me, sorry) as to whether a 'pastel mojave ghi' is one of the ones that may tend to "wobble". With all the morph-mixing these days, it's something that just might turn up now & then anyway- IMO.

The tremors indicate muscle weakness. Her hyperventilating sounds quite normal, since BPs do not like to be "soaked"- and some more than others, will "protest".

Try not to worry too much while you find out more, but I would keep an open mind either way as to her health status.

[jmcrook]

So we need someone who knows BP genetics now (that's not me, sorry) as to whether a 'pastel mojave ghi' is one of the ones that may tend to "wobble". With all the morph-mixing these days, it's something that just might turn up now & then anyway- IMO.

The tremors indicate muscle weakness. Her hyperventilating sounds quite normal, since BPs do not like to be "soaked"- and some more than others, will "protest".

Try not to worry too much while you find out more, but I would keep an open mind either way as to her health status.

No wobbles in those genetics.

Sounds like a normal snake eating like a normal snake.

Stop soaking your snake unless it had a bad shed.


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[JAGpenguin]

Hopefully it is normal. Soaking was only due to the snake having a hstory with mites, not supposed to be a regular thing.