poop problem? or normal?

i've had my ball python for a couple of monthes now and everythings been fine feeding mice every 5 days. he's been getting bigger and the mice looked small for him so i finally got him a small rat. it was about the size of where he's the largest, so it wasn't too big for him. anyways he killed it and then ate it (it took longer to finish eating than the mice) and he got a huge bulge in his stomach. after the normal 2 days of not handling i noticed he was still pretty large. i figured maybe it's just taking longer to digest because its larger than normal for him. but now it's been 4 days and he still looks noticably bigger than what he used to. he peed 2 days ago and again this morning each time with urates. i soaked him in warm water last night for about 45 minutes to see if he was having trouble pooping but he only peed this morning. at his thickest part he is more round shaped instead of having a flat belly and the rest round. did my snake just get bigger that fast or is he having problems? i can take pics when i get home if necessary.

Pictures are always helpful with questions like this.

And, as always, if you have any real nagging concerns, please take the snake to a herp vet and get him checked out :gj:

hehe Kyros seems to poop about every 5-6 days after eating and when he poops the whole house knows... Kyros gets fat and stays fat too for a while. Just give your ball some time and try to soak him every other day or so. Hope its not a compaction...

What kind of substrate are you keeping him on?

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Originally Posted by AMC

What kind of substrate are you keeping him on?

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newspaper

confused... so what is your concern? that it hasn't pooped yet? They can go many weeks without pooping if they want to.

Is this lump/bigger area thing mid-body, or down by his vent?

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Originally Posted by mcavana

confused... so what is your concern? that it hasn't pooped yet? They can go many weeks without pooping if they want to.

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well she dropped deuce about 2 weeks ago. i'm not really concerned that she hasn't pooped, more so that she can't.

here's a picture of her a couple of weeks ago
http://www.grqg.com/~nrg303/pics/002.JPG

here's one of her eating the rat
http://www.grqg.com/~nrg303/pics/003.JPG

and here's her today
http://www.grqg.com/~nrg303/pics/001.JPG

it looks like its not just the mid section but the mid section all the way to her rear.

Hi,


She definately looks kinda bloated - I'd be tempted to try the tepid bath again.

Hopefully it is just gas rather than anything more serious like the animal rotting in her belly.

What does the swollen section feel like?

Judging from the length of it I would say the rat was too big for her really - next time offering a second mouse after he has finished with the first might be a better idea.

How does she seem in herself?

Have you made sure your temps are ok as this is doubly important with larger meals I think.


dr del