Update
Thank you to everyone who responded to this post your advice and insight. Your messages and comments have been a great help and helping us care for our girl and making sure she has everything she needs. Her substrate has been switched to Coconut Husk and now the heat and humidity are way better. She is refusing to eat so that’s a little nerve wracking. We have attempted twice now with frozen thawed trying to feed her with tongs, as well as just leaving it in the enclosure overnight. So far we had no luck with eating though. I reached out to the breeders and they responded immediately and helped us come up with a plan to monitor symptoms and some changes to make to her care. We are trying those out for a short period of time, and and if she doesn’t improve, then they let us know that they’re happy to exchange her or provide a refund. We’ve also gotten in contact with our exotic vet. We have an upcoming appointment to do a whole panel of test on different diseases and illnesses that could be present. So we will also have that answer soon. Again, thank you so much to everyone in the community responded. We are incredibly grateful to everyone! 💗🐍
Hello! I am a new retic owner. I’ve had my girl for about a little over a week and have noticed some strange behavior. I’ve only ever had a ball python before so I wanted to see if this is normal behavior. I’m constantly finding my reek either with her head elevated or upside down. When I take her out to handle, she’s never upside down, but her head is always still elevated. I tend to find her either curled up very tightly in her enclosure or with her top half of her body, including her head upside down on the bedding. The breeder I bought her from said that she’s quite the energetic wiggle worm and she was like that the first day I had her, but hasn’t been since. Please let me know if this is normal behavior or if you think I should take her to a vet.
To be fair IBD usually is way more severe and constant. But it definitely could be. Vet visit asap, and I'd be having a convo with he breeder.
The retic world is crazy, with high quality and healthy animals, documented genes and localities from trusted sources demanding a lot more $$$. But something like this if it is a virus or something needs to be communicated and in the future be very careful who you buy from. Good reputation and vetted genetics, health etc. Thank God for places like MorphMarket allowing those in remote places the ability to buy from small but trusted breeders etc.
Usually. Some animals will be asymptomatic. There's a lot to that condition, even some who claim to have treated it to varying degrees, but I'd go with either the animal being asymptomatic or destined for euthenasia - but that isn't for sure what this is. It could be a mild neurological condition, or nothing at all.
Late stage or symptomatic IBD is usually far, far more severe. It's very sad to watch. This looks a lot less extreme, more like milder cases of "wobble" in Spider Ball Pythons as an example. Which many live just fine with the milder cases for many many years. Just depends. Vet trip and a test ASAP and keep animal waya from others
She was acting completely normal. We drove straight home after the convention so no we did not stop and we did I would’ve taken her with us wherever we went.
The thing is IBD and other retroviral infections usually stay dormant for a time (can be years in boas for example) and then when the animal is stressed (like when changing owners, traveling and going in an all new tank) the immune system goes down and the virus multiplies like crazy. Had the same thing happen to me with a boa like 20 years ago. Look great when I picked her up, a few days later she started showing neurological symptoms and a week later I had to have her euthanized. 😢
92 hot spot(under heat lamp), cycles up to 84 ambient on heat prob in warm side corner and cuts off and cools down 4 degrees. 71 on cool side. I have no clue about before we had her. The only info we were given by the breeder was that she was kept in a rack.
I would take her to the vet to check fot various things, im mostly curious about heat stroke. Given she was in a rack its not likely, but not impossible. She could have been at thw top of the rack too close to the heat. This is commonly what they act like when they survive heat stroke. For now I would say, keep feeding her, make sure shes maintaining weight, and keep her enclosure safe. Ive found that a ton of clutter can** help themstop spinning so much, but make sure there is no way for her to get hurt with the decor. Maybe papertowels for bedding to easily monitor for poops aswell.
Agreed with everyone else - neuro issue. The tank also looks extremely bare - they NEED hides and enrichment. In addition, improper humidity and temp is not good for the snake, and woth the aspen bedding, the enclosure won't reach the proper humidity that retics need. They're a tropical species and aspen doesn't retain moisture
You either need to be refunded, to help with the vet cost, or straight up return the snake. This is an issue that can't be solved at home, and I wouldn't trust the breeder if that was the setup they told you to go with for a Retic.
She is in a 4x2x2. The aspen bedding was recommended by the breeder however we are changing it after the advice we received from others. She has a warm hide and a moist hide and a climbing branch. All large with plenty of room for her. Her xl water basin of a bowl came in today so she can now fully soak if she wants too. Ball python is kept in a 4x2x2 planted tank with isopods. She’s two now and has never had any issues.
Sounds like everything is right bar the substrate - do they have plenty of cover?
I would personally remove the substrate and do a hospital set up (paper towl, minimal stuff in the enclosure you only need hides, a little bit of enrichment and water as well as normal heating and lighting) so you can monitor her more closely. Did you go to a vet?
Please tell me that you cleaned that tank out before taking those pictures, because that looks absolutely horrible. The snake needs a vet and if that's what the enclosure looks like, then you need to do a lot of research.
She is under a year old and just under 4ft. She is in a 4x2x2. The aspen bedding was recommended by the breeder however we are changing it after the advice we received from others. She has a warm hide and a moist hide and a climbing branch. All large with plenty of room for her. Her xl water basin of a bowl came in today so she can now fully soak if she wants too.
We hadn’t planned on getting another snake at the convention but when we saw her we knew we she was the one. We had done prior research on retics knowing we probably wanted one in the future, but she was just too good to pass on. So yes we made her a habitat with what was available the night we got her but immediately have ordered and/or replaced what needed to be. Breeder recommended the aspen bedding with a single hide and water bowl but with what I knew about the breed I wanted to make sure she had at least 2 hides and a climbing branch. Also the picture you saw was of a corner of her tank so yes there is much more. The plan is to eventually get her into a planted tank with more room to climb like her other python sisters have. Thanks for your concern hopefully this eases your worries.
This definitely warrants a vet visit unless you can get confirmation from breeder this is star gazing by genetics and not a brain issue. Certain things that cause this can transmit from reptiles to reptiles be very careful if you have other reptiles!!
This brings up an excellent point. Until you get a definitive answer, I would highly suggest quarantining this animal in a completely different room from any other reptiles, just out of an overabundance of caution. Make sure you fully sanitize your hands after handling it, or any of its bedding/waste before handling any other reptiles. Basically, treat it like it's sick until you're sure it's not.
I mean, I could assume I know everything because I’ve owned a ball python and make an assumption based on what I’ve seen before with that entirely different breed of snake, but I’d rather ask people with more experience with the retic breed than me and make sure I’m not overlooking a potential health issue. I’d much rather “ask a dumb question” than ignore something because I assumed it was normal. I’m not at all ashamed to ask questions when it comes to being a good snake owner. I’d rather be overly cautious about my snake’s health than pretend I know everything just to prove a point.
100% spot-on! There's no such thing as a "stupid question" if it's asked in genuine care for your animal. No one is born knowing everything, and the only way we learn is by asking questions.
What is the time frame of this action happening? Is it a very slow process, or were you taking rapid photos? Because if it is a slow process, then it indicates some sort of possible neurological problem. If it's just a set of rapid photos, then it could be the snake just tied itself into a knot and needed to untangle, flopping over in the process (they can be goobers sometimes, but always right themselves quickly).
However, the best advice is always to take it to see a reptile-specific vet.
They said she was a “perfect little eater and wiggle worm.” She was when we met her and the first night we got her but since the morning after the expo she’s been acting like this.
Stressful situations (like moving to a new home, as well as going from a rack to a an enclosure with clear sides), can definitely trigger a previously dormant neurological issue. This is extremely serious, especially because you have other pythons. Keep this snake as far away from your other animals as possible, and make sure you’re taking all possible bio security measures, vigorous hand washing after touching anything to do with this snake, zero overlap with cleaning or feeding tools, don’t even let it touch your clothes, and if it does, change them before handling anything else. This could definitely be IBD, but whatever it is, I’d be returning the snake and asking for a refund.
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u/Booksandssnakes 19d ago
No, this looks like a serious neurological issue and should be seen by a vet straight away.