Snake Diahrrea?

[April K]

Hi,
I'm new to this website and to snake ownership. I recently took over care of an adult bp from a friend of mine. This snake eats frozen, but when I got it, the owner told me to feed it a frozen chick once a week. I did this for 2 weeks, but it seemed like the snake was dehydrated and hungry, so I then feed it two small rats each week for 2 more weeks. It seemed better, so I thought I'd just start feeding it one larger rat every 10 days to two weeks. I think the rats I now have are about 6 inches long and about the same thickness as the largest part of my snake. Is this too big? The reason I'm wondering, is because my snake was just HUGE for 2 or 3 days after eating, and the last two days when I picked it up, it pooped, peed, etc., all over me. Did I overfeed? What will cause expolsive snake diahrrea? This can't be normal.

How often should snakes poop? How often should they have the white poop? How often should they pee? Can someone please tell me EXACTLY what size food to feed a 4 foot BP? I'm a nervous new Mother when it comes to this snake and want to do everything right. Thanks for your help.

April K.

[April K]

PS. It also shed sometime in the middle of the night the same date we fed it, when it had only shed about 3 or 4 weeks previously. Is this okay? I'm going crazy with a million questions. Any help I could get would be VERY MUCH APPRECIATED.

April K.

[Purrrfect9]

The 'white' poo that you are referring to is called Urates, which pretty much is a snakes form of pee. I feed my yr old female a small adult rat every week, without any problems. The appropriate sized prey for a BP would be a rat that is no larger than the thickest part of their body, so you did good on that one!
Also, it's not uncommon for snakes to start a shed cycle if they've been moved and/or stressed recently. That also goes for the whole pooing/peeing on you for the first few handling times. All that I can tell you is to not handle your BP for about a week so he/she can get settled in, then build up a consistant handling routine every week with short 5minute handling sessions, at the same time every week. Make sure that when you go into his/her enclosure that you open it the same way every time, and come in the cage the same way. I have both of my snakes in a tub rack system, so I can really only come in from one angle, but I make sure to stroke the snakes back (behind the head) right before I pick them up. It's just a conditioning thing for them to learn so they will know that I'm not a predator that's going to scoop them up and eat them.

[Kagez28]

you are feeding them chicks as in baby chickens?

[Jonny2184]

My snake ALWAYS poo's and pee's on me when I pick her up... It seems like a tradition now. I think it's just the stress of being pickup or the temp of my own body or something...
Also dont pick your snake up after it eats for at least 24h id' say or even more perhaps... it needs to digest.

I usually just kinda rub the snakes back before I pick her up... just cause I know they are head shy I don't wanna get to close to her head... Perhaps I should even try moving a little closer to the neck... maybe she wouldnt hiss as much!

[Jonny2184]

PS - Don't feed it chickens anymore pls... only rats lol

[JLC]

It won't hurt a BP to eat chicks, if it'll eat them. However, it's very likely that the fowl prey caused the foul poos. Snakes fed birds tend to have nastier, runnier poo than snakes fed a regular diet of rodents.


A small rat fed once a week will be quite sufficient, even for a large BP. 52 rats in a year is extremely generous for an animal that might only eat 10 or 12 times a year in the wild. There's no reason to stuff your snake 'til its "bursting"....and doing so will likely cause it to skip meals for weeks at a time, so that you'll never be sure when it's really hungry, which can cause much frustration on the keeper's part, even if it doesn't hurt the snake at all.

Another cause for runny poo is worms or other internal parasites. It would be wise to take a fecal sample to a herp vet to have a float done to check. Such things are easily treated, once you know it's there....but left untreated could cause more problems down the road.

Lastly....welcome to BP.net! I hope you feel welcomed and find all the help you need.

[Kagez28]

i have read that some breeders give chicks to their ball pythons as treats, but not as a diet.

i don't like snake poo as it is, and runny fowl poo from feeding chicks kinda makes me want to just stick to rodents.

[casper69]

It won't hurt a BP to eat chicks, if it'll eat them. However, it's very likely that the fowl prey caused the foul poos. Snakes fed birds tend to have nastier, runnier poo than snakes fed a regular diet of rodents.


A small rat fed once a week will be quite sufficient, even for a large BP. 52 rats in a year is extremely generous for an animal that might only eat 10 or 12 times a year in the wild. There's no reason to stuff your snake 'til its "bursting"....and doing so will likely cause it to skip meals for weeks at a time, so that you'll never be sure when it's really hungry, which can cause much frustration on the keeper's part, even if it doesn't hurt the snake at all.

Another cause for runny poo is worms or other internal parasites. It would be wise to take a fecal sample to a herp vet to have a float done to check. Such things are easily treated, once you know it's there....but left untreated could cause more problems down the road.

Lastly....welcome to BP.net! I hope you feel welcomed and find all the help you need.

jlc can you help me with a humidity problem as my bp as a dent in the eye if u no how 2 make a humid hide PLEASE TELL the only one i no is to get sphagnum moss but i don't no were to get it and also u put in a damp rubber tub but i live in glasgow scotland so any help would be grateful thanks please get back to me cheer's speak soon

[Purrrfect9]

jlc can you help me with a humidity problem as my bp as a dent in the eye if u no how 2 make a humid hide PLEASE TELL the only one i no is to get sphagnum moss but i don't no were to get it and also u put in a damp rubber tub but i live in glasgow scotland so any help would be grateful thanks please get back to me cheer's speak soon

Oh man, that kinda made my eyes bleed a bit >.< lol. Umm, what kind of enclosure is your BP in? I'm assuming a glass tank with a screen top? One of the best ways that I know is to cover 3/4 of the top with some aluminum foil and duct tape. This keeps the humidity from escaping. Also, if you use a heat lamp, that will pretty much suck all of the humidity out of the enclosure as well. Under tank heaters wont do this as much. You can also mist the enclosure a few times a day to raise the humidity also.