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Ok...I have several Balls and Boas in my collection but never seen this behaviour before....

One of my Balls, 'Junior', is the calmest most trusting snake i have ever come accross. He has never bitten me or ever tried. He feeds great and is a 'roamer' (he roams round and round every night even after a big meal). When ever any family bring any kids around and want to handle one of my snakes, i use him every time as i know he is so calm and so trustworthy. Anyway, you get the picture, i'm sure you got snakes like him too.
So, this evening was different to non other. He'd been fed a few days ago and he seemed as quiet as ever in his hide box. Round about 10pm he always starts to emerge to do his nightly rounds, so i thought nothing unusual when i noticed him poking his head out of his hidebox. Five/ten minutes later as i was watching TV, i heared an almighty growling sound (not a hiss a mad growl!). I looked over to his viv and saw he was thrashing around with his mouth open wide Growling like something possesed. I bolted up and couldnt believe my eyes, i wasnt sure if he was showing agression or in some kind of pain. After about 15 seconds of this i had to get in there and offer some kind of assistance. Upon opening the viv and offering him my hand to clamp on (i know it seems crazy to do that but it was the only way i could tell if he was being agressive or in pain), he stopped growling and coward away. I then got him out of the viv and he's been with me ever since (he's round my neck as we speak, hope he dont go skitzo again!). He now seems as normal as ever and like it never happened. Has anyone got any possible explanitions to what could have caused this outburst. Has this happened with any of your much trusted snakes...and what about the growling anyone experienced that???

Sorry if i've waffled on a little but i'm still in shock!

Thanks for reading and sharing your thoughts.

You would know if he has a bad respiratory infection, right?

Years ago I had a burm wake me up in the night thrashing around. Apparently snakes can't cough and when they are near suffocation they thrash to try to expel. Maybe he had something stuck in his throat?

Snakes can indeed cough/sneeze, although I can certainly see one who was in a panic thrashing about.

Personally, the only time I've ever seen this type of behavior, it was neurological in origin. However, those symptoms persist for hours or days (or until it dies).

It does sound weird...I'm glad he calmed down for you. : )

My male Pepito has done, as far as I can tell, something similar twice in the past year.

Last July, just after I got him, he was on top of one of his hides, and started making a horrid kinda hacking noise. But instead of thrashing, it seemed more like his body was really tense, but he didn't have any control (like people when they have a really bad coughing fit). Fell off his hide. Stopped, went back to normal.

Then in October-ish, I woke up wo this wierd noise and thought "Who's plunging the toilet in my room? Wait, I don't have a toilet!" and Pepito was doing it again.

He hasn't done it since, and he's been to the vet since then (all healthy). So I have no idea what it was.
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