Hello eveyone,

I have an issue with one of my snakes that I have not experienced before. I have been keeping snakes for years and currently have a very healthy boa and BP. I got a yearling JCP male last year and initially all was good. Ate, pooped and shed like clockwork. All of a sudden about 6 months ago, he started swelling a few weeks after eating and was unable to defacate on his own. I tried soaking him to no avail. I took him to my herp vet and he told me that sometimes they grow out of it and he massaged him and it worked. Since then, I have had to massage this snake to get him to go every 2-3 weeks or whenever he is visibly distented. Soaking does nothing and the initial urate block that comes out is rock hard followed by alot of water and normal soft stools after that. His humidity stays at 50-60% at all times and his temp gradient is 84 warm side 78 cool side with a 90 degree basking spot. I am at my wits end as he obviously does not enjoy this massage and I am afraid of one day hurting him or him hurting me as he is growing quickly. By the way, he has never missed a meal, even in shed. Any opinions are appreciated as I am a fairly experienced keeper, but I am obviously missing something and my vet seems to thing nothing is wrong. Thanks.

Dave