Cloaca open sometimes... Worrysome?

This is a weird subject to search for.. Been looking online for a few hours with no real answers!

So I'll just ask you guys... I hope someone knows! :P

Anyway. Our 3 year old(supposed girl) ball python, Maru, sometimes open and closes her cloaca. Sort of looks like she's trying to 'use the restroom'.. She poops on a regular basis, and it's all healthy and she hasn't had any parasites so far(and no changes in poop appearance since we last checked at the vet--but we could always check again)

It's not a prolapse, there is nothing on the outside that should be on the inside, sometimes we can see inside but that's about it. It doesn't happen too frequently, but it does happen.

I just want to make sure everything is fine and normal. It's not like something you are likely to find on a caresheet, you know?

If everything is hunky dory..then awesome! But if something is wrong let me know!


Oh, she's housed in a 55 gallon.. Basking spot is 90, and she has a good gradient going down the tank to the low 80s, occasionally dipping to 75 at the coldest. She has a nice big waterbowl that she can fit in (but only does so before shedding occasionally) and we are careful to mist her tank and keep her humidity up(about 70 percent of the screen top is covered to keep heat and humidity from escaping.


My theory was it was probably us happening to handle her before she went to the bathroom or something.. That's what it LOOKS like, or like she's just flexing her butt muscles, lol! So hopefully it is just something that innocent and not some terrible sign that she is ill! :O

Thank you for your replies!
-Kat

It sounds like your snake is suffering from loose morals and is in dire need of a mate.

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Originally Posted by Slyther83

It sounds like your snake is suffering from loose morals and is in dire need of a mate.

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LMAO I love the way you put that!

:O What?? :D That's hilarious!! LOL!


So, is that really a sexual behavior? Like, is it a male thing or a female thing or both? :oops: We desperately need to have the poor thing properly sexed. By all of the noninvasive checks she appears female(spurs, 'tail' length, size, etc.) but.. I know some very 'boyish' snakes are known to surprise their owners with eggs and vice versa!

This is hilarious! What a naughty snake!

Hi,

How long have you had her and how much is she handled?

Does she do this when you are handling her or have you just happened to have glanced in her tub and caught it?

By the way none of those non-invasive test work in the slightest. :P


dr del

Hahah I know none of those sexing tricks work! But we hadn't had a chance to ever get her sexed(the first vet we went to didn't know how and we never wanted to risk it.. Though I would like to learn the whole probing thing! Just haven't had anyone to teach me!)


Tends to happen..Either way. Sometimes when she's held, sometimes when she is in her tank!

We have had her for 2 years, we bought her as a yearling. She was our first snake so we didn't know much about the reptile world, so she actually is wild caught.. came with a load of ticks and parasites and RI! What a wake up call! (We now..are extra careful about which people we buy from and know what to look for in a healthy snake!)

She's handled almost daily, except on some days when she is shedding or just after she has eaten! She's done this weird little behavior since about a year ago!

Since I posted them earlier,

Here is a comparison of spurs showing that the rumour that males have longer spurs doesn't hold true.

Salome ( big badonkadonk proven girl )
http://img833.imageshack.us/img833/3...lomespurs1.jpg

Herman ( serial lothario )
http://img221.imageshack.us/img221/5...rmanspurs1.jpg


dr del

Hmm,

I was wondering if she was feeling nervous and, basically, getting ready to pee on you to make you put her down.

But if you have had her that long and she is fine with handling then it probably isn't that.

Have you noticed any thread or worm like things in her poop? Just wondering if it could be parasites irritating her vent - also for a similar reason it might be worth checking for stuck poop or substrate inside her vent if you can catch it open. :ninja:


dr del

Never seen any worms! Her poop all looks like..regular healthy poop! But we can go get it checked out. Found a new vet who works with a reptile rescue in our area so he should also actually know how to sex a ball python too..maybe we can get that done while we are there!

We're also about to switch her back to newspaper.. We have her on cypress but it's just become a hassle! I like just being able to take up the whole thing when it gets dirty! If there is a substrate issue that should help with that!

It usually looks very clean and fine on the inside, not irritated. It just sort of looks like as if a human would just sort of..clench/stretch out their muscles down there sometimes! At most we see this behavior once every month or so, sometimes more than once in a day, sometimes not for months at a time. Usually we don't see it. Saw it yesterday, first time since about august.

I'd give her a nice soak and see if it loosens anything up- could it be a partial fecal impaction? http://www.thamnophis.com/forum/urge...impaction.html



Also, cloacal popping in snakes as a defensive mechanism http://www.jstor.org/pss/1565572

Hmmm that is what we usually do. She usually will 'go' on her own time, usually about every 3rd meal so about ever 3 weeks or so. Sometimes sooner! But she's generally pretty 'on time' about it which makes it nice to know when we need to clean!

But we could go ahead and give her a nice soak again, it's always fun anyway! :)

Never makes a 'pop' noise...

I wonder if she does have something stuck? Seems like she has quite a doctor's visit ahead of her!

I've never owned a BP but my Bredli goes in between every meal, not every 3. I've heard of some snakes like Blood Pythons taking months between pooping, are balls irregular as well?

It seems to vary.. Some do it more frequently, some do it less often, usually adults seem to slow down in frequency.

I actually should call my boyfriend about this schedule, I am away at college right now so he is currently the one taking care of her! That was what I noticed last I was there, but her feeding schedule has actually changed.. So it could be different now.

We were originally feeding her larger prey every 2 weeks, now we are down to a smaller prey every week. I'm sure that probably makes a difference now that I remember that!

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Originally Posted by purplemuffin

It seems to vary.. Some do it more frequently, some do it less often, usually adults seem to slow down in frequency.

I actually should call my boyfriend about this schedule, I am away at college right now so he is currently the one taking care of her! That was what I noticed last I was there, but her feeding schedule has actually changed.. So it could be different now.

We were originally feeding her larger prey every 2 weeks, now we are down to a smaller prey every week. I'm sure that probably makes a difference now that I remember that!

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Smaller prey is better I'd say. I used to feed my Bredli larger in 2 weeks intervals, however she would get very sluggish with such a full belly. They will be more active and be less prone to obesity via a less large prey size.