I have a jungle jaguar carpet python (about 5yrs old, male) who has always shown very mild signs of wobble, but never serious. He has always been an excellent eater (never refused a meal, even in winter), but he has stopped eating (about 2 months now) and is showing severe (and seemingly worsening) neurological symptoms lately. I took him out today to give him a soak and as soon as he touched the water he started violently corkscrewing his head (putting it underwater and banging it against the bin repeatedly as a result), and didn't calm down until I put him back into his enclosure. For the last few weeks, he has refused to sit anywhere in his enclosure except one spot (in between the hot(95F) and cool(75F) ends) and will not climb or go into his hide. His nostrils and eyes are totally clear, he seems alert once disturbed but he is hard to wake up at times. He does not have mites. Very lethargic in the enclosure but curious, active and friendly when handled. His wobble gets really bad when he is surprised (like putting him in water or offering him food). He hit his head badly a few months back when he missed a strike and smacked the plywood side of his enclosure (I hadnt even opened the cage yet- he was just excited to eat), and he ate once since then. Do you all think his worsening neuro is a result of his knock on the head or IBD or something else? Any tips to get his appetite back to normal? I've tried both frozen and live rats but he seems afraid of the prey items. I have not gotten any new animals in over a year, but I work at a reptile shop so a contagious disease could be a possibility.
Sudden, serious neuro symptoms
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Sounds pretty normal for a jag. You bought a jag, this is what you can expect.
Given that you're giving temperatures in Fahrenheit I assume you're in the USA (few people outside your country will have any idea what those numbers mean), so presumably you're getting into the cooler months, and going off feeding is not unusual for an adult male carpet at the point in the seasonal shift.
IBD was never really a thing, it was the boogeyman people blamed for unexplained snake illness and death in the 90s and early 00s, and people usually refer to other boogeymen these days. It is funny to see the different boogeymen magically come and go over the years. It's possible your snake has a pathogen and yes, anything at all which stresses a jag will increase the symptoms of the inherent jag neuro issue.
Assuming he is in good condition, to get his appetite back to normal, wait until the weather warms up after winter.
Given that you're giving temperatures in Fahrenheit I assume you're in the USA (few people outside your country will have any idea what those numbers mean), so presumably you're getting into the cooler months, and going off feeding is not unusual for an adult male carpet at the point in the seasonal shift.
IBD was never really a thing, it was the boogeyman people blamed for unexplained snake illness and death in the 90s and early 00s, and people usually refer to other boogeymen these days. It is funny to see the different boogeymen magically come and go over the years. It's possible your snake has a pathogen and yes, anything at all which stresses a jag will increase the symptoms of the inherent jag neuro issue.
Assuming he is in good condition, to get his appetite back to normal, wait until the weather warms up after winter.
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