Tail wag/head wobble

[Swiftstar]

So, in short got my new female young bp spider pied, She has eaten two rat pups within first four days of receiving her which is good as they are defrosted from live too and new environment what not but anyways, she can't seem to strike her food think she attempted Atleast fifteen times on both occasions never successful even when I put it so close up to her... So I just leave in viv and she eats it, she also wags her tail so bad. what I'm asking is will this get better in time? In terms of striking or will she always miss and just have to stick to leaving the rat in the viv for her in future or should I always attempt to let her think she's killed it first? Lemme know thoughts or if anyone has similar thing Cheers all

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[Marzipan]

Hey there, fellow new spider owner here! I read a lot about the spider morph before deciding on a morph, and some people seem to reckon that a wobble can get worse depending on the level of stress. I noticed my snake was wobbling a lot more during the first week in her new home, but her wobble has already calmed down a little bit after she is settling down in the second week.

From what I have read, it can be difficult to know the severity of the wobble until you spend a longer time with the snake, and some people seem to think that a wobble can vary at different points in their life. For instance, a young non-spider morph may still be off with strikes simply because it hasn't perfected striking yet. Add a wobble to the mix and you get a pretty clumsy snake.

For some recommendations, I would suggest heating up the prey if you don't already, as maybe your spider is also confused by the heat signature of your hand. It may be that she also becomes nervous if she smells you in the RUB, causing her to wobble more, which in turn could explain why she finds it easier to take the mouse from the RUB.

I really hope her wobble does improve for you though, good luck!

[JodanOrNoDan]

Many younger spiders get very excited during feeding time and will miss a few strikes. Mine that have issues have gotten much better as they have aged. Once the animal has settled in, I have found that a little exercise helps a lot and motor control improves.

[Lizardlicks]

Tail wagging is usually something else separate from head wobble. As far as I have heard it's usually associated with excitement/frustration, so it could be your snake is getting worked up for feeding, missing the strikes, and getting more worked up because of the missing.

My lesser bee Serket also missed her strikes, but she's never tail wagged and her wobble is nearly invisible: you wouldn't know she had it if you didn't know what you were looking for. I just heat her rat as usual, but instead of wiggling it around, I set it down and let her get to it in her own fashion. She casually saunters over, slurps it up, sniffs around for more, then wanders back to her hide to digest once she's determined there no more to be had. As long as your snake is still enthusiastically eating, the striking and coiling parts aren't really necessary to the process.

[ladywhipple02]

If she can eat, I'd let her do it her way. Spiders have their issues, some worse than others, some barely noticeable. I used to have a spider female that twisted herself completely around trying to strike. She never could get the whole strike and wrap thing down, but would still eat by picking it up and swallowing. I have a bee now strikes just fine and wraps fine - but the last time he ate, he literally swallowed the mouse while he was completely upside down.

They're goofy creatures, spiders, but if she's eating, I'd say you're fine.

[Swiftstar]

Thanks for all the responses.. Yeah when she strikes sometimes ends up upside down well hopefully it may improve overtime if not and she is happy with just picking it up and eating it then hey Long as she is eating, seems happy enough atm Thanks all

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