A boa constrictor with IBD, "mad snake disease".

 

Have you ever seen a sick boa constrictor? All of a sudden they start shedding, develop head tremors and secondary infections, twisting up into knots and wasting away. These poor animals may have acquired a fatal infectious disease called inclusion body disease (IBD). The disease can rapidly progress to the nervous system, with behavioral abnormalities such as disorientation, corkscrewing of the head and neck, holding the head in unnatural positions, or rolling onto the back. Affected snakes either die quickly or starve slowly over several years. The disease was first observed in captive snakes More >