Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hi,
I bought three baby ball pythons at the reptile show in Orlando this weekend. I was told they were all feeding on frozen mice, though none of them have eaten yet. One of the pythons is exhibiting a strange behavior that I do not understand and is of great concern. This one snake seems to have a problem keeping itself upright when trying to change position, or move. It will twist up, with half of its body upside down, and have to transfer this loop down the entire length of its body to get its entire belly against the flooring. It holds its head at a strange angle as well, but not all the time. Is this a disease or some type, or brain dysfunction or is it fairly common behavior?

thanks,
Lori

No, this is not OK. I'd recomend taking the baby to the vet NOW. Separate it from all your other snakes, and sterilize ALL enclosures thoroughly.
Hopefully you'll be OK. I'd take all precautions possible. I'm sorry that this happened. I do know how stressful this can be.

Best of luck to you and your babies!
GratefulFred
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GratefulFred

Quick question: Does it "stargaze"? Does it not respond to things that get the other snakes' attention? Like waving your hand near its face, etc. If so, it MIGHT have IBD. Which means *get it as far away from your other snakes as possible!* Like, at least in a different room.

Unfortunatly, the only way to test for IBD is a necropsy. And as far as I know, there's no cure.

I'm sorry. hopefully it's not IBD. *crossed fingers*
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-Irish
My Snakes

i dont have the experience...but could it not also just be an inner ear problem?

Not sure you can have an inner ear problem for an animal that doesnt have ears?

Sounds like IBD or brain damage to me.

I have seen this condition in Boas and once in a ball python,
It might be BID.
Body Inclusion Disease.
If it can't support itself or "star gazes" and has no control over itself, BID is most likeley the cause.
You must seperate the animal from all other reps you might have.
Make sure to remove all animals from the inclosure and disinfect
it thouroughly.
Keep the sick snake in a seperate container & get it to a reptile vet asap.
I hope everything is ok for you.

...since these babies are probably recent imports, IBD is highly unlikely to be the cause of this snakes problem. Incidentally, IBD can be diagnosed through biopsy. Symptoms of this snake strongly suggest brain trauma or inner ear (balancing organ) dysfunction. Either way there's not much you can do in this situation but wait to see if it'll resolve on its own. Steroids such as prednisone can help reduce brain inflammation but if it's a brain abcess (unlikely) they can be contraindicated.
Scott J. Michaels DVM