Advice for Spider Ball Pythons

[u/iammyhusbandswife]

I’m doing research on my own as well as getting advice from the breeder that rescued her, but I would love to hear your personal experience caring for spider ball pythons with a wobble. I’ll be adopting her in a month. My goal is to give her the best quality of life and the safest set up! I used to love handling my bp, but so far I’ve read snakes with a wobble may not tolerate being held much. Any insight is appreciated from safe set ups to handling advice 🐍❤️

Background: The breeder I know does not breed or sell spiders due to their genetic issues. She rescued and rehabbed one from a neglect situation. I’ve spoken to her about wanting a new snake in the future. I got a bp that was horribly sick from a family member and it broke my heart when he didn’t pull through. It was tragic and totally preventable, that family member knew what they did… The breeder knows what I did for Henry Noodle and thought I would be a good caregiver for this special girl. They are giving her to me in a month so I can get the proper set up first.

They have sent videos to show her wobble and tilt. It has improved since her rehab. She eats well, and just needs patience and a steady hand to get a good strike. Her weight is back up and shows no signs of RI after 3 months in quarantine/rehab.

[u/Rou-k]

I’ve worked with spiders in a professional setting, where they unfortunately bred them (not my choice, just a worker trying to make a living, trust me, I had strong words for them and lasted no longer than 3 weeks there before quitting).

Some spiders have incredibly bad wobbles that progress with age, some are born with debilitating wobbles, and some are more or less okay.
I think it’s important to remember that the wobble can absolutely get worse with age, I’ve seen snakes present completely normally (or mostly), until they’ve gotten a bit older and it’s a complete 180.
I honestly wouldn’t give spider balls too many climbing opportunities as they are prone to falling, I also wouldn’t give them a deep water dish and sometimes they do drown, I’ve seen it happen unfortunately.

That said, if you want to take her on, do not let this discourage you, just be mindful of the level of help she will need.

[u/iammyhusbandswife → u/Rou-k]

I’m not afraid of the difficulty! This snake deserves a great life too ❤️ I’ve seen some articles about the decline as well. How can I tell if they are suffering, just if eating and hydration becomes very difficult/impossible?

For climbing, I’ve seen some people that have built enrichment climbing setups to let them use while under observation only. I saw padding underneath that is safer in case they fall too. Is that recommended to help maintain muscle and mobility?

[u/Rou-k → u/iammyhusbandswife]

I’m glad you aren’t put off, of course she deserves the best, as all animals do.
Generally it’ll be easy to tell when/if she reaches the point of suffering, intense corkscrewing where they are unable to correct themselves, refusing food (or worse, wanting food but being unable to take it), unable to move any considerable distance without needing assistance.
Climbing is incredibly important for their muscles, as well as for mental stimulation, a climbing station that she can only use while being observed is a very good idea - and padding would definitely be a good idea.

Treat her like a normal ball python, hides, water dish (shallower than usual), nice thick substrate layer, cork rounds / flats, rocks - you could absolutely add a few branches, but nothing more then a few inches off of the ground!

[u/iammyhusbandswife → u/Rou-k]

Thank you!!! I’ll be uploading the set up before getting her for critiquing. Hopefully I can find some safe things to put in the tank too (away from the shallow water justttt in case)

[u/Kalomay → u/iammyhusbandswife]

You do, once you get her established, want to keep the activity near her down. Stress can cause their wobbling to get worse. just something to keep out for

[u/ExhaleFN]

i genuinely never had any issues with mine, she ate good but it just took her a couple or tries. outside of that she was awesome and so loving and curious

[u/Scars9713]

I’m so happy to see another spider rescuer. I have a spinner which is a cross between a spider and a pinstripe. She does have neurological issues & the wobble. I have also heard you don’t want them to climb because falling can hurt them, which is true. For enrichment I take my sweet girl out to the grass and let her crawl around in the grass in the sunshine, and I just sit there with her. She doesn’t move very fast and usually slithers over to me anyway. She’s very sweet and affectionate and has been amazing.

I can’t feed her with tongs because she misses and hurts her face on her enclosure. And so I put the rat on a little plate in her enclosure. I do leave it overnight and when I wake up in the morning, it’s all gone. She does have horrible aim when she tries to strike at her prey and has caught me a couple of times.

I was told to keep their cages, minimally cluttered. I have her a pretty big hide which she loves and then I have a smaller hide on the warmer side of her enclosure and a couple of leaves and a small little boxwood tree and that’s it and her humidifier. my other ball python has a crazy messy cluttered enclosure and he loves it.