I have no experience with Womas and would be grateful for any feedback. A friend has an 18 year old male Woma that she rescued about two years ago. Up until he was rescued he was kept in very poor conditions and was neglected (enclosure way too small, no hides, unsanitary conditions, sporadic feeding). He adjusted very well to his new home and his temperament was described as "curious, outgoing, and sweet".
Within the last couple of months he has become extremely reactive and defensive as soon as anyone enters the room where his enclosure is. The behavior change has been sudden; she says "it's almost like he woke up one morning and chose violence". As far as the behavior when he realizes someone is in the room: "...it's almost like he's hunting, but in this sort of crazy way, almost like he has dementia". He had never bitten, but has started biting whenever anything is done in the enclosure such as spot cleaning or water changes. He seemed calmer last night so my friend picked him up so that she could do a substrate change. He was calm until one of her kids walked into the room and spoke loudly, and at that point he delivered a hard bite to my friend's upper arm and wouldn't release for 20 minutes.
His appetite has been fine - she tried bumping up food size, but that had no effect on his behavior. Bowel movements and urates are normal, and his behavior in the enclosure is normal until he realizes someone is in the room.
She's an experienced keeper - she does fine with her mainland retic, for example - but is at a loss about what to do here. I am thinking these changes may be age-related, such as developing cataracts or general neurological changes. But I wanted to ask here if there are any other possibilities to consider such as seasonal feeding behavior changes.
She has a good reptile vet so I am recommending she take him in for a checkup, including his eyesight. Any thoughts or suggestions would be welcome!
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