So where's the poop?

[Diamond_newbie]

So I'm new to owning snakes and I've done LOTS of research, even took my little guy to the reptile vet less than 24 hours after getting him just to check he was healthy.

I've had Earl, my ten month old diamond python, three weeks now. Prior to picking him up he had not been fed in a month. First feed I gave him, he pooped four days later. Now he is being fed each Saturday, but no more poop!? That's three feeds total and only a poop after first one.

He seems happy, is a good feeder and I can't feel any lumps or obstructions. I'm pretty sure I haven't just missed a poop either.

is this ok? Should I be worried? It seems googling "when should my snake poop" doesn't help me too much! Is it just that he needs a while to get into a schedule?

any help much appreciated!
Jojo x

 

[Shotta]

congrats on the diamond pics!?
what are you feeding him? is there a noticeable lump after you feed him??
and what are your temps?
* woops my bad i misread post*... he could be going into shed and holding on until he sheds?

 

[hunterschamps]

I feed my md weekly, depending on size of meals, she may only poop once every three to four weeks, or every second day lol..

 

[Diamond_newbie]

There is a noticeable lump after feeding. First two feeds I gave him a small pinky rat. Last Saturday I gave him a larger pinky rat (shocking the size difference from one seller to the next). He sort of played with it a bit like he was trying to work out how to swallow it, but eventually swallowed it.

The food size he is on now is slightly wider than the widest part of his body.

I will add that a day after I first fed him I found what I'm pretty sure was hard urates, like the feed kick started his digestive system.

When I first got him I thought he was going to shed, but he didn't. He has not shed in a while and he does look "thicker" so I'm thinking he might shed soon.

but so you think I'm worrying about nothing?

 

[SarahScales]

You are just worrying about nothing. There are hundreds of threads on the mysteries of snakes and their poop schedule.

The general rule is: I am snake and I will poo when ever I want, if possible it will be at the most inconvenient time and in my water bowl or other such disgusting place.

 

[J-A-X]

I would have thought pinkies were too small for a 10mth old, but anyway ... There's not a lot of substance to pinkies - wait til he starts eating fur, then the poop will follow. My coastal puts out the equivalent to chihuahua poop and I reckon it's 90% fur !

 

[Davesgonefishin]

I have a spotted &2 stimsonsthat are only 5 months old that I have already moved up to pinkie rats so I agree with Jax ... to small a feed size...

 

[harlemrain]

You are just worrying about nothing. There are hundreds of threads on the mysteries of snakes and their poop schedule.

The general rule is: I am snake and I will poo when ever I want, if possible it will be at the most inconvenient time and in my water bowl or other such disgusting place.

Tell me about it! Had my coastal out the other night and he crapped all over my arm & doona cover :x

If it's been a while I wouldn't worry but you can always take him outside and let him slither around on the grass, often my guys will go when they're out and about as opposed to just curled up in their tanks, I think them moving around can help bring on bowel movements

 

[disintegratus]

I found when my little ones were tiny babies, it didn't seem to matter how much I fed them, they just didn't poop much as they put it all into growing.

 

[hnn17]

When they're young it's just a brown skid mark you may miss, when older and feeding on adult rats you will get logs.

 

[Diamond_newbie]

Ok cool. Ill have a look at moving him up to a bigger rat soon, he was quite slender when I got him and Shane (reptile vet at Karingal, Victoria) said he should be fine with pinky rats.

Ok ill stop freaking out, over the next few feeds ill try giving him something a bit bigger.

Do most people use the rule that feed should be one to one and a half times the width of the widest part of a snake?

 

[ronhalling]

I have a spotted &2 stimsonsthat are only 5 months old that I have already moved up to pinkie rats so I agree with Jax ... to small a feed size...

Wow Dave how big is your spotty, my 2 spotty's are nearlly 7 months old and are still on fuzzy mice, i was going to wait till they were on larger mice before i changed to fuzzy rats, i can't see the point in going back to something without fur (pinky rats) after feeding on fured animals. .............................Ron

 

[harlemrain]

Ok cool. Ill have a look at moving him up to a bigger rat soon, he was quite slender when I got him and Shane (reptile vet at Karingal, Victoria) said he should be fine with pinky rats.

Ok ill stop freaking out, over the next few feeds ill try giving him something a bit bigger.

Do most people use the rule that feed should be one to one and a half times the width of the widest part of a snake?

You can feed double the girth no worries depends on how you feed, i.e. more less often or a massive feed every 7-10 days

 

[The_Geeza]

Ok cool. Ill have a look at moving him up to a bigger rat soon, he was quite slender when I got him and Shane (reptile vet at Karingal, Victoria) said he should be fine with pinky rats.

Ok ill stop freaking out, over the next few feeds ill try giving him something a bit bigger.

Do most people use the rule that feed should be one to one and a half times the width of the widest part of a snake?

My advice till it settles with u would be to continue the next couple feeds on the pinky rats but give it 2 or 3 at a sitting so u c a nice lump.....after next shed then try up sizing....JMO

 

[alex92]

Lol at harlemrain my coastal crapped all over me and my doona on sunday haha, to the op though the snakes aren't stupid, if they gotta poo they will, you said it did once already so you know its healthy, my babies seemed to poo weekly until recently they just didn't pass anything for 2-3 weeks, by the end it was noticeable they had to as the end of the tail was getting fat but sure enough they came through when they had to, mine are about 5 or 6 months old and eat pinky rats, the food looks too big for them at first but they love it more than pinky mice and have no trouble getting it down, snakes can eat pretty big things if they want to

 

[Chris1]

pinkies seem to get absorbed and leave very little waste, my first bredli didnt poo for 12 weeks when he went thru his packet of 12 pinky rats, just absorbed the lot and started pooing again when i moved him up to furred food.

 

[BeZaKa]

pinkies seem to get absorbed and leave very little waste, my first bredli didnt poo for 12 weeks when he went thru his packet of 12 pinky rats, just absorbed the lot and started pooing again when i moved him up to furred food.

I had the same thing with my Bredli on pinkie rats, poos where barely noticeable, when I moved her to fuzzies they became noticeable guess the pelt makes a difference.

 

[Bluetongue1]

Firstly, you need to understand why snakes poo. Faeces is made up of indigestible and undigested material, such as fur, mature skin and very solid bits of bone and teeth. The amounts of these materials varies with the food item. Pinky mice and rats are potentially entirely digestible leaving no wastes to be eliminated. This is not an issue so long as they are not maintained indefinitely on such a diet.

The digestive tube of snakes does not have the layers of muscle we have. Snakes rely on moving their bodies over objects to help push the contents of the gastrointestinal tract along. This is why an exercise session on the back lawn will frequently produce a good old fashioned dump.

The rate of digestion is dependent on quite wide range of factors but the standout factor is temperature. Snakes need to be able to get to their preferred body temperature to optimise the rate of digestion.

The most frequent cause of constipation is insufficient hydration. Snakes will not want to water that has stood for more than a day. So daily change of water or every second day is the way to go and constipation should never be a problem.

Production of urates is entirely separate from digestion. Urates are the nitrogenous wastes that are produced when excess proteins are broken down and used for energy. They are excreted via the kidneys and carried to the cloaca. They are normally voided when faeces passes through the cloaca. However, if there is sufficient build up they can be pushed out of the cloaca by movement of the body over objects.

Unlike a human meal, which is usually through n a day and certainly no longer than three, the rate of digestion in snakes, as has been indicated, is dependant on a wide range of factors, such as the nature of the prey item, its size, the temperature of snake, its rate of metabolism, its age, its length, its girth, its activity type and duration, its hydration level, its state of health and stress levels, whether it is coming up to shed... I cannot think of anymore off the top of my head at the moment, but I am sure you get the idea. So it is perfectly normal for a snake to defecate anywhere between 4 days and 4 weeks following a meal. Food items that contain no roughage, such as pinkie mice and rats, may not produce any waste at all to be defecated.

With respect the size of feed items, snakes have been known to eat animals two or three times their own body girth. However, it is important to realise that is not a regular thing and is not without its hazards. Captive snakes are much better two smaller items than a single large item. Food items with a girth of one and a quarter to one and a half times the maximum girth of the snake are as large as you would want to go. They should leave a clearly perceivable bump not much bigger than about one and a quarter times the normal diameter once swallowed. Weight is the most accurate way to go. Prey items in the range of 5% to 25% of the weight of the snake are acceptable.

Blue

 

[Diamond_newbie]

Hey Everyone
thanks for all the advice. Well, as you all said I was worrying about nothing. Last night he pooped.... all over my pyjamas :S

 

[BeZaKa]

Firstly, you need to understand why snakes poo. Faeces is made up of indigestible and undigested material, such as fur, mature skin and very solid bits of bone and teeth. The amounts of these materials varies with the food item. Pinky mice and rats are potentially entirely digestible leaving no wastes to be eliminated. This is not an issue so long as they are not maintained indefinitely on such a diet.

The digestive tube of snakes does not have the layers of muscle we have. Snakes rely on moving their bodies over objects to help push the contents of the gastrointestinal tract along. This is why an exercise session on the back lawn will frequently produce a good old fashioned dump.

The rate of digestion is dependent on quite wide range of factors but the standout factor is temperature. Snakes need to be able to get to their preferred body temperature to optimise the rate of digestion.

The most frequent cause of constipation is insufficient hydration. Snakes will not want to water that has stood for more than a day. So daily change of water or every second day is the way to go and constipation should never be a problem.

Production of urates is entirely separate from digestion. Urates are the nitrogenous wastes that are produced when excess proteins are broken down and used for energy. They are excreted via the kidneys and carried to the cloaca. They are normally voided when faeces passes through the cloaca. However, if there is sufficient build up they can be pushed out of the cloaca by movement of the body over objects.

Unlike a human meal, which is usually through n a day and certainly no longer than three, the rate of digestion in snakes, as has been indicated, is dependant on a wide range of factors, such as the nature of the prey item, its size, the temperature of snake, its rate of metabolism, its age, its length, its girth, its activity type and duration, its hydration level, its state of health and stress levels, whether it is coming up to shed... I cannot think of anymore off the top of my head at the moment, but I am sure you get the idea. So it is perfectly normal for a snake to defecate anywhere between 4 days and 4 weeks following a meal. Food items that contain no roughage, such as pinkie mice and rats, may not produce any waste at all to be defecated.

With respect the size of feed items, snakes have been known to eat animals two or three times their own body girth. However, it is important to realise that is not a regular thing and is not without its hazards. Captive snakes are much better two smaller items than a single large item. Food items with a girth of one and a quarter to one and a half times the maximum girth of the snake are as large as you would want to go. They should leave a clearly perceivable bump not much bigger than about one and a quarter times the normal diameter once swallowed. Weight is the most accurate way to go. Prey items in the range of 5% to 25% of the weight of the snake are acceptable.

Blue

Extremely informative, thank you blue for sharing