Spider ball pythons - good or bad?

This is a spider ball python. You might look at this snake and be amazed by it's patterns and form. However, there is much more to this snake. In this post I will be covering the morph and giving my opinion on it.

The main reason people are split on this morph is their neurological aspects. Spider morphs have a thing called a 'wobble', it can vary in severity from being minor and cute to being disturbing. It looks like the snake is just shaking it's head in a 'no' but without a reason. There is another form of this called 'corkscrewing' which is much worse. The corkscew action is where the snake twists it's head (and body) for no reason, example found here. Please note that any videos in this post may be upsetting to some readers, so be careful.

There is more than just the wobble and corkscrew. Spider morphs can have a plethora of other issues such as a lack of coordination. A regualr ball python will keep it's head level and facing one way no matter how much you move the object it is attached to, spider morphs will just move with the object. This is a issue and could confuse the snake. Other snakes may have a problem feeding and cause harm to themselves, in a video by GoHerping on spider balls he shows a clip of this and further explains the issues linked to feeding. Problems during feeding can stress a snake out. Feeding is a very important time in a snakes week or month. If the animal becomes stressed it will not eat, or in a worse case scenario will regergitate it's meal. Spider balls however have a different problem. They are bad at striking and can attack themselves meaning that they will feel threatened and hurt and very confused.

I'm sure you're sat there reading this thinking "Dari, why are they bred?' which is a question I also wonder. The main reason is for money, as you can see they are a very beautiful animal and if it wasn't for the other issues there wouldn't be so much of a fuss about the sale of them. Upon close inspection, they produce a big profit. On one website, the minimun was $50 while another was $229. Higher prices being $4750 and even $10000. There is clearly a demand for these animals, which is why they are so expensive. The main problem is that people may spend thousands on a snake that they know nothing about. Before getting any pet, do the research to avoid getting a snake with neurological issues.

In my opinion, they should not be bred as the estimated quality of life for these animals ranges from okay to abysmal. These animals will not thrive in any condition, no matter how much help you give them.

I hope you have learnt something about this morph. I'll see you next time.
-Dari