wierd spider movements

[Jor23dan]

i have a male spider and i noticed that he flips his head upside down and all around at times. he does it alot when i hold him. Does anyone know what this could be?

[TheSnakeEye]

use the search button, I promise you'll find the answer

[Geckodelic]

search Spider Wobble

[Crawly's Mom]

You guys are so helpful!

Firstly... hello!

The strange movements you are seeing are refered to as a the spider wobble. Every spider has this neurological disorder, some show it more than others. Typically the wobble becomes more prominent or noticeable when the snake is excited or stressed, IE: When being handles, transported, or fed.

It does not harm the snake at all, spiders live long and healthy lives even with the disorder. It is just something that most spider owners have to accept or not deal with the morph. Nothing is wrong with your boy, so don't worry. It is normal... for a spider.

[saber2th]

You guys are so helpful!

Firstly... hello!

The strange movements you are seeing are refered to as a the spider wobble. Every spider has this neurological disorder, some show it more than others. Typically the wobble becomes more prominent or noticeable when the snake is excited or stressed, IE: When being handles, transported, or fed.

It does not harm the snake at all, spiders live long and healthy lives even with the disorder. It is just something that most spider owners have to accept or not deal with the morph. Nothing is wrong with your boy, so don't worry. It is normal... for a spider.

X2 -- It will vary on intensity from individual to individual. Any morph with Spider in it can have it. My Spinner has it and he is just fine, real good eater.

[MrLang]

You guys are so helpful!

Firstly... hello!

The strange movements you are seeing are refered to as a the spider wobble. Every spider has this neurological disorder, some show it more than others. Typically the wobble becomes more prominent or noticeable when the snake is excited or stressed, IE: When being handles, transported, or fed.

It does not harm the snake at all, spiders live long and healthy lives even with the disorder. It is just something that most spider owners have to accept or not deal with the morph. Nothing is wrong with your boy, so don't worry. It is normal... for a spider.

x2

I was quite freaked out when I saw my spider morph corkscrewing his head when I first put him in his enclosure on the day I got him. I was also pretty pissed that the guy I bought him from didn't mention this kind of issue. I bought him to be a future breeder and was unsure about the issue as a moral dilemma in perpetuating a faulty gene.

After owning him for a while now, I have a different stance. Spiders eat like pigs, breed well, and show no signs of poor health. Some people even report them to be "friendlier" than other morphs. The ataxia we see in the spider breed is often associated by people with similar behaviors in humans. While their direct mechanism in the nervous system is nearly identical, the ataxia in humans is almost always the byproduct of a crippling illness such as Cerebral Palsy. In those individuals, discomfort stems from other elements of the illness and generally not the ataxia itself (there are some exceptions with violent muscle spasms or tensing, but that is not what we see in spiders).

Ataxia is a fancy term to describe partial or complete lack of muscle coordination.


TL;DR your snake is fine dude. Don't let it bother you unless the animal shows signs of physical injury stemming from the ataxia. If you can't let go of that visceral reaction to seeing it behave that way, trade your snake for a new one.

[TheSnakeEye]

You guys are so helpful!

Firstly... hello!

The strange movements you are seeing are refered to as a the spider wobble. Every spider has this neurological disorder, some show it more than others. Typically the wobble becomes more prominent or noticeable when the snake is excited or stressed, IE: When being handles, transported, or fed.

It does not harm the snake at all, spiders live long and healthy lives even with the disorder. It is just something that most spider owners have to accept or not deal with the morph. Nothing is wrong with your boy, so don't worry. It is normal... for a spider.

Search button would have gotten OP faster results. Besides, this has been discussed a thousand times. Idk how people don't get tired of repeating themselves.

[angllady2]

I am sorry you are distressed by this problem.

This is however, exactly the reason why anyone thinking of getting a pet should research first. There are thousands of pages on the internet talking about the spider wobble, and it would be very hard indeed NOT to come across the information if even minimal research was made.

All spider ball pythons, as well as any morph combination containing spider will wobble to one degree or another. With many it is slight or barley noticeable, with an unfortunate few it is very severe and almost unbearable to watch. There is no escaping it when dealing with spiders, individual owners and breeders must decide for themselves if they are comfortable with it or not.

Gale

[Jor23dan]

I have heard of the wobble but i didnt know 100%u what it was so wasnt sure thats what it was or not. Thank you for the help

[WingedWolfPsion]

By the way, if you see any snake OTHER than a spider or woma ball python displaying that type of behavior--assume that it has a deadly and contagious illness. (Other things can cause this, including overheating and congenital problems during development in the egg, but it's extremely rare, and it's not normal in non-spider/woma morphs).