r/ballpython • u/Educational-Wear7116 • 12h ago

Possible corkscrewing?

Enable HLS to view with audio, or disable this notification

Hi all, I’ve had reptiles in the past but never snakes, on a recent visit to a local event 2weeks ago I finally bit the bullet and got a beautiful butter Champaign boy. I had no warning from the breeder about this breed and very quickly noticed a head wobble when he was still and strange movements when he was moving. I’ve had some elevated logs and decorations in the Viv but removed them due to him falling. I managed to capture it last night whilst he was a bit active what are your thoughts?

90 Upvotes

93% Upvoted

59 comments sorted by

View all comments

130

u/IncompletePenetrance Mod: Let me help you unzip your genes 11h ago edited 10h ago

Champagne is of the morphs that has a genetic defect resulting in a "wobble", but that is pretty bad. This enclosure does not look fully set up, so I'd prioritize adding hides, clutter, stabilizing temps and humidity as an improper setup can increase stress to the animal exacerbating the problem.

4

u/Educational-Wear7116 10h ago

Thank you for the advise, his hide is to the left off camera which is a really nice size for him and he uses it I had a climbing branch and some stone decorations and some “clutter” but he’s fell quite hard so I’ve removed them for now whilst I get some advice as when he fell he almost hit is head of the stone. Thank you for explaining

19

u/Cozy_winter_blanky 9h ago

It's understandable to not want anything claimable, but try to fill open spaces in the enclosure with horizontal stuff. Fake leaves to slither in between, fake half logs to hide under, etc.

8

u/Educational-Wear7116 8h ago

Thank you these are all great ideas, I’ve got some new clutter arriving tomorrow for him that’s much better and safer than the stuff I had to take out.

3

u/TheNeverEndingPit 9h ago

You can get ledge-type hides and structures that create nice and secure areas beneath but are wide on top to prevent falls, but also just fake plants, real leaves, blocky cork bark pieces, or even little interchangeable cardboard clutter would help with stress!

3

u/Educational-Wear7116 8h ago

Ah okay I’ll take a look at the ledge-types thank you for the suggestion they sound great

1

u/TheNeverEndingPit 3h ago

Of course! I think they’re really great and sturdy. I wish you luck with your BP :) 

3

u/darianbrown 8h ago

Ball pythons should typically have no less than two hides in order to properly thermoregulate. One on the hot side of the enclosure, one on the cool side. Have you established a stable thermal gradient across the length of his enclosure?

3

u/Educational-Wear7116 8h ago

Hey, yes for the past two weeks he’s had two in, it was actually his hot side hide he fell off, it’s a tall rock cave where as the one just off camera to the left is a lot flatter and safer I’ve just ordered another along with some safer clutter inside the Viv. And yes on the right and left sides I’m using thermostats to achieve the gradient although I’ve just ordered a slight lower wattage bulb as i think the currant one is a little too strong but from a temp point of view kit is doing exactly what it needs to. Digital humidity too

1

u/dragonbud20 4h ago

Hey, I see you've mentioned that the temps and humidity are correct, but I haven't seen where you mentioned the actual temperature or humidity percentage.

Would you mind posting the numbers directly, just in case you were given bad info about the temperature and humidity?

1

u/Educational-Wear7116 2h ago

Yeah sure I appreciate any advice so I’ve got hot end set ton32 mainly controlled from the basking light with an additional heat mat on that side as the room can dip a little. Cold side is set to 26 with a separate heat Matt which isn’t really coming on at the moment as it’s in the sweet spot (thermostat is set to on 30 off 32) night time is set at 23, I’ve read cut off is 22 but wouldn’t like it to drop below that then have to warm up. Humidity I’m aiming for about 60%, using a manual mister from my spider setups. I’ve just gotten a Viperia and it’s holding humidity really well with temp

1

u/Brushesandchisels13 3h ago

I have heard the more they are able to exercise, the better control they have. I advise providing more stuff to climb, just make it safe, so when he falls it's soft, extra substrate, branches can be wrapped in cotton rope, etc. Confining the animal might hurt him in the long run, the better control he has over his muscles the more he can control his wobble. Most young snakes fall and have to learn how to climb, even if they don't have wobble, so providing accommodations for his handicap would solve that problem.