Constipation?

Okay...my BP Cornelious hasn't pooped in about two weeks now, and it's time. I just bumped him up to large rats, which he eats once a week (he's taken two so far, once a week). I haven't fed him this week, as he hasn't pooped yet, and he looks like an overstuffed Italien sausage. I've read on here that soaking in warm water will make them defecate most of the time. I would like to try that, but he just started his shed cycle. He's at the eyes cloudy, skin dull part. Is it it okay to soak him right now, or should I wait until the skin starts peeling? At what point should I get him to the vet for some Snaketo Bismol? Thanks in advance :gj:

Hmmm, do you think the fact that he went from medium to large could be a factor in why he hasn't gone potty yet? They're really close to being as big around as he is - I try to get large rats on the smaller side, and he ate them no problem.

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Originally Posted by reaxion07

Okay...my BP Cornelious hasn't pooped in about two weeks now, and it's time. I just bumped him up to large rats, which he eats once a week (he's taken two so far, once a week). I haven't fed him this week, as he hasn't pooped yet, and he looks like an overstuffed Italien sausage. I've read on here that soaking in warm water will make them defecate most of the time. I would like to try that, but he just started his shed cycle. He's at the eyes cloudy, skin dull part. Is it it okay to soak him right now, or should I wait until the skin starts peeling? At what point should I get him to the vet for some Snaketo Bismol? Thanks in advance :gj:

Hmmm, do you think the fact that he went from medium to large could be a factor in why he hasn't gone potty yet? They're really close to being as big around as he is - I try to get large rats on the smaller side, and he ate them no problem.

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i wouldnt ever feed anything larger than a med rat and thats to a really really large female.

Aww, man, were out of medium rats so I just followed the prey items as big around as they are rule :(

I don't think you are too late to soak him. Just be gentle, and calm and he should be ok. Soaking does help some snakes defecate, I know when I used to have a corn he used to LOVE LOVE LOVE defecating all up in his water dish so I could clean it up.

If nothing else, the soak will help rehydrate him and also help his shed. Whenever I deal w/ a difficult shed I put the snake in a tub w/ air holes, fill up the tub w/ water NO MORE THAN 1/2 WAY up the snakes' body (any more can cause them to stress out and they could drown) and then set the tub in a room undisturbed for about 30-45 mins w/ a heating pad underneath it to keep the water warm.

Afterwards, if it's an incomplete shed (he partially shed), take him out and using a wet/damp towel let him crawl through it, and it usually works really well. Again, only do this last part if he's already started shedding himself.

Thanks! After his first shed, he's shed perfectly with me every time, I just didn't know if soaking him while he was still cloudy would mess with his cycle. I guess I'll try soaking him, and if it doesn't work it's off to the vet I go!

Don't soak the snake if the snake is in the blue stage. Usually they will use they will defecate when the shed is finished.. Goodluck!

My adults usually defecate every shed cycle. If he is in blue, you should probably just leave him alone until he sheds. I feed my 2500 gram girl a medium rat every week because I tried her on small & she was hungry all the time (not that she is not still a very eager feeder). But I would not feed her anything larger or more than 1 a week. However, sizes do vary. What's large in one place, could be medium somewhere else.

I don't think the issue is whether it is too late to soak him. I've read that it can actually make a shed worse to soak before the actual shedding process begins, so it sounds too early to soak.

My BPs frequently poo when they shed, and 2 weeks is not even close to long enough to worry about it begin too long between poos (unless there is something more than just the amount of time causing your concern). I'd just wait and see what happens when the snake sheds. If the snake doesn't poo and/or the shed doesn't go well, then would be the time to try soaking.

I would not continue with the large rats though. Many people I really trust recommend nothing larger than a small/med rat for any BP. But I am not aware of a large meal being likely to cause constipation.

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Originally Posted by piper

Don't soak the snake if the snake is in the blue stage. Usually they will use they will defecate when the shed is finished.. Goodluck!

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just out of curiosity, why would you not soak the snake if it is in blue? I understand the snake just being in blue could be stressed if you handle it, but the soak itself rehydrates the snake and actually helps it shed.

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Originally Posted by MuzeBallPythons

What's large in one place, could be medium somewhere else.

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It took me a minute to figure out what you were referring to. If I interpreted correctly, this is a good point. One store might call something a "large rat" while another store could declare the very same rat to be a "medium".

I like referring to the Rodentpro website. I think their definitions are fairly standard, plus they have pictures as well as approx ages, length, and weight for each size, so you can get a good idea if the feeder you brought home from your local store should really be considered the size they said it was. In my experience, a lot of local stores aren't even consistent with themselves from week to week, much less conforming to an industry standard.

Mice:
http://www.rodentpro.com/catalog.asp...el=frozen_mice

Rats:
http://www.rodentpro.com/catalog.asp...el=frozen_rats