Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I have an african rock I just took out of the middle of a rack system and put in a glass enclosure and noticed star gazing today. He is up rouhly half his body and looking up. Ht does not look exactly like classic stargaazing with the head straight up though, it is somewhat foward say 70 degrees or so and almost "cobra like." While he is out of the rack, he is not out of my snake room since it is so cold everywhere else I do not feel it is safe to quarantine but i also dont want to risk my entire collection. I also noticed on other ball python looking up but it does not appear similar to sta gazing and more like she is looking at an escape or waiting for food (it has been a while since feeding and it is in the same corner she is always fed from). Any suggestions I would like to hear or anything else I should look for before deciding I need to remove him from the room. There has been no other problems with him before and he seems healthy and eating well. Thanks in advance.

Many things can cause star-gazing. Are there any new additions to your collection? Look at the source if there are any and see if they have had any problems. In the mean time keep as clean as possible and service the rock cage last. Monitor for a few days to make sure it is indeed a problematic symptom and not just odd behavior.
From personal experience I immediately think IBD, but I would not jump to that. If no new animals it is even less likely. Pythons generally show symptoms and die from IBD rather quickly. Toxicity can also cause neuro symptoms. Any no-pest strips, medications ect in the vicinity?
Once you're sure there is a problem I would take your snake to your herp vet and complete all recommended diagnostics (I imagine a blood analysis would be one of them)
Good luck with your snakes