Well, for one, BP's with IBD tend to get sick quickly and by the time you notice neurological deficits, they won't live to much longer. They decline rather quickly.
As morbid as that sounds to us, some people that breed or keep Boas would keep Ball Pythons near the Boa to check if the Boa had IBD. Boas can live a long time without showing any symptoms, all the while spreading the disease.
While Ball Pythons get sick and die rather quickly.
So the Ball Pythons were (are) used to determine whether the Boa carried that disease.
A Spider that wobbles will usually still eat well and live a normal life, aside from the wobble. A BP with IBD will stop eating and quickly just get worse and worse..
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