No poop!

[Chubbs14]

I have brought a yearling spotted python about 40cm.
I have had him for 11 days and he has feed twice on pinkies and had no problem.
still hasn't popped, he hasn't been to active either (he is in a snap box in his larger inclosure heating)
should I be worried

 

[Bredli1956]

Give it another week if the still don't poo call a vet

 

[Bluetongue1]

Pinkies may be fully digested (zero roughage) and therefore produce zero wastes. There are many factors that can affect the rate of digestion in snakes. Anywhere from four days to four weeks (or more) can be perfectly normal. Note that some individuals are as regular as clockwork while others can vary a lot in the time they take to expel wastes after a meal. A thick length of branch or pipe, or other object that the snake has to climb over when moving around the cage will help facilitate movement of gut contents. Some exercise on the back lawn is also good for that.

At 40cm the snake sounds rather small for its age and more than ready for larger food items - with fur and tougher skin and some thick bones to provide roughage. Try and make the weight of a meal iroughly around 20% to 25% of the weight of the snake (anywhere from 10% and 25% or so, is fine). Alternatively, the maximum diameter of the prey item should be roughly equal to that of the snake. A meal should result in an obvious but not excessive bulge – say a quarter to a third increase in diameter.

Blue

 

[PappaSmurf]

I was thinking the same thing about the snakes size for it's age. Our yearling Stimsons is well over 70cm long & is on a fuzzy rat once a week & is as regular as clock work.

 

[Chubbs14]

I'm only going off which information I was given by a well known reptile shop in Vic.
when I picked him up I was given 6 pinkies and they told me that's all he would need till I introduce bigger

 

[Planky]

Can you please pm me the name of the shop

 

[Chubbs14]

This is him.

 

[CrystalMoon]

View attachment 304986This is him

Doh it says the attachment is invalid?

 

[Chubbs14]

try now.

 

[Bluetongue1]

Irrespective of the reputation of the shop, the reality is that for the snake you bought, the advice you were given falls well short of good quality advice. The snake will no doubt get by, but will not thrive on pinkies alone at this stage. What would you expect a ‘yearling’ snake to be eating in nature – only pinkies?

The size of the snake in relation to its purported age rings alarm bells for me. The first thing I suggest doing is accurately weighing the animal.
Something your perusal - draw your own conclusions... Spotted Pythons are around 30 cm when hatched. A snake that is feeding normally should reach 40 cm between two to three months of age and weigh close to 20 g. At 12 months they are double that length and weigh around 150 – 200 g (i.e. up to 10 or more times than their weight at 40cm). [derived from records provided by Brian Barnett].

I assume from your initial post that you have the snake in a click-clack inside a larger enclosure. Make sure you have adequate ventilation for both. It does not need to be huge, just enough to let out stale air and replace it with well oxygenated air. If you are not running a thermal (temperature) gradient then ensure the temperature stays between 27[SUP]o[/SUP]C and 29[SUP]o[/SUP]C to provide for their general preferred body temperature of 28[SUP]o[/SUP]C. Provide clean water in a clean water bowl at least 3 times per week as snakes will not drink water that has stood for a day or more.

It is entirely natural to want to accept whatever the provider of the animal tells you. After all, they have produced and / or looked after it, so surely they should know what they are doing. However, with experience, you will discover that the commercial pet industry ranges from those that put their animals’ welfare first, to those who are only interested in making dollars. Try doing a bit of research on the net, starting with Doc Rock Articles on the Southern Cross Reptiles website.

Blue

 

[Chubbs14]

ok thanks. i have ventilation in both and heating is contected to a thermostat.
thats extreamlly odd, will have to weigh him tomorrow and see cause i got told he/her was about 12 months old.

 

[Pauls_Pythons]

He may well be a yearling but not fed well during that year.
Most shops will only feed the bare minimum.

I remember picking up a Diamond python a while ago from a very well known place in Vic. Snake was in similar condition to yours, well underfed, or as I call it, "deliberately stunted". They catch up if well looked after over the next 12 to 18 months

 

[Chubbs14]

That sounds to be the same, did you start feeding bigger strait away?

 

[Bluetongue1]

The issue is not about feeding bigger. It is about feeding appropriate sized meals with appropriate content at appropriate intervals for the age and size of the snake. If it has been underfed to date then putting it straight onto an appropriate feeding regime for its weight will only benefit the animal. Snakes are adapted to eat what they can get. So if the pickings are slim and all of a sudden they hit a bonus and glut themselves, they cope! A snake that age definitely requires roughage in its diet.

Feeding prey items at around 20% of body weight once a week is a conservative feeding regime that will encourage a healthy rate of growth. You can feed up to a third of the body weight weekly if you really want to push the growth rate. My preference is to be more conservative than that.

Blue

 

[Pythoninfinite]

Feeding only pinkies will still produce some wastes and urates, even if a bit less than when bulked up with fur - they are not 100% absorbed. However, the snake should be on half-grown mice at this stage. Even though it may be a bit smaller than many of the same species at one year, it is probable that it has been sparingly fed for the first year of its life. This will cause no problems at all in the long-term. Pink mice are only appropriate early meals for the smallest species, and those which have very small young, such as GTPs, but even then, as soon as they are big enough, they should be moved on to fuzzies and then upgraded as they grow. I don't think there is one species of python for which a pink mouse is appropriate for a 12 month old specimen. As far as passing wastes goes, it is usually an irregular occurance, and is dependent of temperature, activity, and to some extent, the foods which are offered.

Mike, I would say that a feeding regime of 20-30% of body weight, while tolerated by most species, is not conservative - it's at the high end of what would be recommended by experienced keepers, and definitely something to be cautious of doing in high summer. January to March it's far safer to be feeding smaller meals, especially if hot weater is imminent. While these are captive animals which can utilise much of what we offer them on a regular basis, 20-30% of bodyweight is of a magnitude many times that which they would regulary get in their natural habitat, the exceptions being when there are brief times of plenty such as during mouse plagues or particularly good seasons. I believe we should strike a balance between the two options, even to the point of not not feeding to a routine - skip a week or three occasionally, let the snake become really hungry sometimes. These are animals which are built to live with peaks and troughs in their metabolism, and it may be beneficial to allow their bodies the full range of metabolic reactions. If you offer 20-30% of a snake's bodyweight in food every week, it will be in a constantly switched on digestion phase 24/7.

Breeders of designer snakes pump their animals with food because they want them to breed as early as possible, the competitive nature of that game dictates the behaviour of the keepers to stay ahead of the competition and increase returns in the short-term... may or may not be a bad thing...

Jamie

 

[Chubbs14]

He just shed, hopefully some poo will follow

 

[Pauls_Pythons]

That sounds to be the same, did you start feeding bigger strait away?

Food has to be sized as suitable for the animal.
Good temperatures and regular meals will bring the little one to task.

Often animals that are "deliberately stunted" become fantastic eaters with super appetites

 

[Chubbs14]

Still no poo. And no urine that I could see... Hmm ideas anyone? Still eating fine

 

[yellowbeard]

Still no poo. And no urine that I could see... Hmm ideas anyone? Still eating fine

If you have 32c hot spot on the top of that bedding stop feeding it pinkies and feed it fuzzies, you should see "poo" with in 5 days or so.

- - - Updated - - -

Be there poo?

 

[Chubbs14]

Snake won't poop/urinate

yearling spotted python eating weekly, had him for about a month and have been checking his aspen bedding daily and see no sign of urine or poop. His active.
has anyone ever known this to happen? should i take him to a vet