Not eating, smeared blood when peed & hard bone like masses

[MissLovesSnakes]

So my ball python hasn't eaten in 2 months and has gone from 2.18 Kg to 2.02 Kg.

She's also smeared blood twice after she's peed. - has anybody else's snake had this?

I've tried a few different things to get her to eat and my husbandry seems to be ok. I was recently recomended to try feeding her a fresh killed hamster. Does anybody have an opinion on this?

Also the vet did an x-ray and there are 3+ small dense bone like masses in her digestive tract apparently the size of rat skulls - but like I said she hasn't eaten in 2 months (and she has had a bowel movement since she ate.) - anybody else's snake had this?

I'm asking because the vet wasn't 100% sure what the masses were or why she's smeared blood. She said that it's possible that it's undigested bone stuck in her system and she wants her to eat to see if it passes out of her system. Or that they could be kidney stones.

[Jon14]

Well her not eating for 2 months is fine, but those bone masses and the blood are interesting. Maybe since she hasn't eaten, the movement through her digestive tract may have come to a halt? Maybe try feeding her a live rat pup, or something else you could leave in with the snake for long periods without the worry of injury to the snake?

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[Stewart_Reptiles]

I am gonna take a wild guess but the bone masses could be urate at that size they can pass pretty big ones and in the event the animal is slightly dehydrated they could cause a blockage.

Have you palpated her and do you know how far from the vent those "masses are", is your BP swelled up near the cloaca?

As for the blood have you paired her with a male? Has she shed recently.?

Those are theories but a possibility.

Now for the things that are certain

Not eating is not unusual at that size and 2 months is NOTHING it could last a year. Do not feed hamsters or gerbil it's not the solution and could be very problematic as they are like crack to BP and very hard to switch back from, the key is proper husbandry, patience and smaller meals when she resume feeding.

As for your vet find a new one.



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[O'Mathghamhna]

I am gonna take a wild guess but the bone masses could be urate at that size they can pass pretty big ones and in the event the animal is slightly dehydrated they could cause a blockage.

^^^^This

Also, if she just shed, a little blood by the cloaca is normal.

[MissLovesSnakes]

The vet palpated her. I could look up how to do it and check as well.

If her body was split into 4 parts, the masses would be somewhere in the 3/4 area. They were the same density as her bones on the xray.
Near the cloaca, it looks very empty. She always has water and a humid hide so hopefully it will keep her hydrated.

Yes! - the blood was both times after she shed. So that may be normal? That's great! I've never paired her with a male. - she has laid eggs in the past though.

She's been on hunger strikes before but has never visibly lost weight.

Ok, no hamster. I was wondering about that.

As for vet, that's the only one around. I moved to a small town and I had to go 4 towns over just to find one.

Thank you guys for the replies. I appreciate it.

[stickyalvinroll]

Take it to the vet...

[MissLovesSnakes]

Already did