Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Welcome to kingsnake.com's message board system. Here you may share and discuss information with others about your favorite reptile and amphibian related topics such as care and feeding, caging requirements, permits and licenses, and more. Launched in 1997, the kingsnake.com message board system is one of the oldest and largest systems on the internet.

Click here for Dragon Serpents
Click for ZooMed
Click here for Dragon Serpents

Stargazing ball

cyrus7 Feb 26, 2009 12:37 PM

I recently acquired a pastel male from a trade. When I recieved him he had a head wobble, similar to that of a spider, I chalked it up to being stress from the transfer. -foolishly I might add- I got him out yesterday for cleaning and he was stargazing, head vertical and body tense. I've been keeping a watchful eye on him and today he has progressed/declined into body thrashing -beautiful right? I traded for a snake with IBD. He was on strict quarantine, but after passing that -1 month- he has been in the same room/close viscinity with my other balls and burm. Two of my other balls are showing weird symptoms and will be headed in to the vet asap. But theirs are different.

Both of them have a little puffy area near their neck/jaw line area. and both hold their mouths askew. Scratch that, just looked and my first/fav. ball has her head arched back in a rainbow-type line.

sorry kind of a stream on consciousness here. My question is, Is it IBD or could it possibly be something else? He is at the thrashing stage and she is at the stargazing stage. Should I even bother taking him in? All the information I've read is that it's deadly at this stage.

Advice would is welcome and appreciated.
Thank you,
-mads

Replies (1)

Coldthumb Feb 27, 2009 07:16 PM

>>I recently acquired a pastel male from a trade. When I recieved him he had a head wobble, similar to that of a spider, I chalked it up to being stress from the transfer. -foolishly I might add- I got him out yesterday for cleaning and he was stargazing, head vertical and body tense. I've been keeping a watchful eye on him and today he has progressed/declined into body thrashing -beautiful right? I traded for a snake with IBD. He was on strict quarantine, but after passing that -1 month- he has been in the same room/close viscinity with my other balls and burm. Two of my other balls are showing weird symptoms and will be headed in to the vet asap. But theirs are different.
>>
>>Both of them have a little puffy area near their neck/jaw line area. and both hold their mouths askew. Scratch that, just looked and my first/fav. ball has her head arched back in a rainbow-type line.
>>
>>sorry kind of a stream on consciousness here. My question is, Is it IBD or could it possibly be something else? He is at the thrashing stage and she is at the stargazing stage. Should I even bother taking him in? All the information I've read is that it's deadly at this stage.
>>
>>Advice would is welcome and appreciated.
>>Thank you,
>>-mads

It certainly doesn't sound good..but i would take the pastel and the girl that was "arched up" to your vet and find out exactly what you are dealing with...If it is IBD,then you are down to damage control at this point and will have to take some fairly drastic measures if you are to recover from it.

Have you had a mite infestation recently by any chance?..They are notorious for sreading disease though a colony.(,and sharing water bowls could do it too.)
-----
Charles Glaspie
http://www.myspace.com/coldthumb

Site Tools