Hey guys, about two months ago I adopted an extremely troublesome ball python from a buddy who was really struggling to take care of him in his situation (money...). Before I get to his problems and ask my own questions I want it clear from the start that husbandry has been spot on from the beginning with this little BP, and that there was no cruelty or any form of harmful actions towards him.

His name is Syntax, he is an 11 month old pastel ball python, and he has probably the most severe head wobble I've ever seen or heard of. While I originally thought wobble only came from the spider gene, it appears it can emerge in other morphs, but it is extremely rare. His wobble is SO severe that he cannot determine direction in any way. He continually flips himself upside down, crosses his eyes, and literally spins in circles like a fish with whirling disease. When he strikes at food, it takes many attempts and he appears only capable of striking vertically (directly up into the air off the ground). It is extremely sad to watch, and seems to create a lot of stress for the snake.

Either as a result of his wobble or perhaps some underlieing neuroligical disorder, Syntax has always had problems eating. He refuses to take f/t, and even frequently refuses live. As such he has seen numerous feeding strikes, and is very underweight for his age, right around 200 grams. However, he doesn't appear skinny, just stunted. He looks as if he were maybe 3-5 months old in length and girth.

He has also had numerous problems with shedding, holding on to shed skin for days and even weeks at a time when it is literally sluffing off of him from touch. Humidity was monitored well with the previous care taker as well as I (50% MINIMUM) and yet he still has problems shedding. Sometimes refusing to shed without assistance (bath/towel combo) when my other BP at with identical husbandry has zero issues.

He also seems to have severe issues adjusting to an environment, regardless of the tub setup, he constantly tries to escape, and rarely hides in his TWO provided hides. He is always moving and burning energy, and severely stressed out.

It is extremely sad to watch, and apart from all these problems the little guy is extremely cute and a joy to handle. I'm dieing to help him live a better stress free life, but I'm at ends as to how I should accomplish it. Just to clarify, his temps/humidity are near perfect. A cold side of 80*, a warm side of 90-94, and humidity never below 50%. He always has fresh water, and is in a secluded tub with minimal exposure to movement and outside activity. Even as I check on him now I see that he is moving around his enclosure, desperate to escape.

What can I do to help this BP? I got him to eat a few small live mice with me, but zero f/t (same result as previous owner) and have tried EVERY f/t trick on the planet... Does anyone have any advice or have heard of this before? Is it possible he has something very wrong with him genetically?

Any advice is appreciated, I just want to make this poor little guy happy.

Thanks,
Fatal