advice needed from the more experienced

[anendeloflorien]

it is a neurological problem with spiders.

Sorry not to take the thread off topic too much but I heard something interesting this weekend on the spider "wobble". One of the vendors at the show in Manch was saying that they've done some studies and the reason that spiders "wobble" in the first place is because the genetics that give them that spider pattern are on the same allele as their vision. So supposedly spiders see their whole world as spinning constantly. As they get older they usually learn to deal with it and that's why older spiders usually do not spin as much if at all compared to the younger ones .

It was just funny because they were selling this little spider female and she was literally spinning herself into knots. I know people are gonna hate me for saying that it's funny but y'know it's more of a quirk in my mind than something to be deathly afraid of. My little spider has a bit of a wobble sometimes when he gets excited.

Lol, sorry for the little hijack just thought that was interesting. He is a very nice looking little spider for sure and for that price you can't beat it!

[Adam_Wysocki]

they've done some studies

Who is "they" specifically? And what kind of studies were done to test the vision of spider ball pythons? Who was the vendor you spoke with that gave you this information? I'm fascinated.

-adam

[xanaxez]

if this seems to be a problem in this breed then why do people continue to make them? to me i do not see that people are even caring about this problem and continue on with it not even caring about the welfare of that type of breed. i love the way they look but now knowing the issue of this i wouldnt buy one and help keep these type of projects going. i do not condem people for doing it or people for buying them i just cant bring myself to getting one now knowing these poor things has genetic problems and it isnt there fault =(

[Tosha_Mc]

There was a heated thread on KS a while back about the spider wobble and I think it got pulled because it got pretty bad -- but there was one post that stuck out like a sore thumb from a guy with a medical background (I forget what exactly) but he pointed out that the spider wobble can't be neurological -- there are apparently several characteristics to determine neurological disorders and the "wobble" lacked these characteristics. I wish I'd a screen captured the damn thing to do a little research - I don't know how true it was but it was for sure interesting.


Anyway that is neither her nor there. There are plenty of spiders that don't wobble -- but there should be a sticky somewhere on the forum outlining what is known about the wobble for those that don't know about it.

[Freakie_frog]

if this seems to be a problem in this breed then why do people continue to make them?

Its not a problem its an inherited trait. Like Blue eyes or being short really no different

to me i do not see that people are even caring about this problem and continue on with it not even caring about the welfare of that type of breed.

Loads of breeders care about it and put the welfare of the animals first. If any animal is born with something that hinders its ability to feed, drink, poop, pee, breath or shed then steps should be taken but none that I've seen are that bad.

I do not condem people for doing it or people for buying them i just cant bring myself to getting one now knowing these poor things has genetic problems and it isn't there fault =(

Better stick with normals then cause all morphs are "genetic problems".

[anendeloflorien]

Who is "they" specifically? And what kind of studies were done to test the vision of spider ball pythons? Who was the vendor you spoke with that gave you this information? I'm fascinated.

-adam

Lol I've got his card at home . From the way he was saying it he made it sound like "oh, this is common knowledge how can you not know this." lol. It wasn't like he was trying to be condescending or anything, he seemed like a pretty smart guy . I'll pm you with his contact info if you want

[Freakie_frog]

I would like to know also please its an intresting concept at the least.

[Adam_Wysocki]

Lol I've got his card at home . From the way he was saying it he made it sound like "oh, this is common knowledge how can you not know this." lol. It wasn't like he was trying to be condescending or anything, he seemed like a pretty smart guy . I'll pm you with his contact info if you want

Please do! ... I've never heard of any scientific being done specifically on a ball pythons vision and I'm fascinated to hear any results ... or maybe be put in contact with who conducted the study. I really enjoy keeping up to date on any and all research being conducted on ball pythons ... since they're my job.

Thanks! ... Looking forward to that PM.

-adam

[Azriel01]

Um well i may be new to BP's but i know that whatever study these people performed could not have linked the spider color pattern to the spider vision...I'm a bio major far along in my studies, just to give credibility not to brag. I have a spider and she does wobble a bit, i think its kind of cute, and honestly when i see her wobble it looks more like a muscular contraction because of some hormone release when excited about feeding or whatever. I highly doubt if not blatantly refuse that the spiders see their world as constantly spinning and wobble or twist as a result. Most likely this trait is connected to a slightly higher release of an excitatory hormone that occurs with this morph, which is a more sound explanation that can also be used to explain the reason that these snakes tend to be more curious and active, "tend to be." If it is just a hormone release trait, not problem, it is something that their bodies will grow and mature to control. Probably the reason most older older spiders stop their wobble.

Honestly when my snake Eva eats and she starts her wobble i play some music and i think she's just dancing, kinda how we dance when were excited.

[Adam_Wysocki]

Um well i may be new to BP's but i know that whatever study these people performed could not have linked the spider color pattern to the spider vision...I'm a bio major far along in my studies, just to give credibility not to brag. I have a spider and she does wobble a bit, i think its kind of cute, and honestly when i see her wobble it looks more like a muscular contraction because of some hormone release when excited about feeding or whatever. I highly doubt if not blatantly refuse that the spiders see their world as constantly spinning and wobble or twist as a result.

Oh ... Ohhhh ... well, I guess I never considered the idea that a vendor at a show could be making up a story about a "research study" in order to sell a spider on their table that was spinning uncontrollably ... hmmmmm ... I'm sure it's some kind of misunderstanding.

-adam