Blue tint to belly

I fed my BP 48 hours ago and upon picking him up I've noticed that the last 3" of his underbelly has a slight blueish tinted colour to it and it seems a little 'soft'. It's very clear on the white of his belly. On a human I'd describe it as an almost healed bruise. For the four weeks I've had him he's done very well, haven't noticed any problems with him. I did think I'd seen him mildly shake his head just after feeding him last but haven't seen it again. I'm a little concerned as I'd done quite a bit of research before buying and have never come across a blue tint. I'll add a little info incase it's needed. He hasn't stoold for about a week and a half now.

6 month old/male/enchi pastel
bought from reputable breeder
plastic RUB hot 88 cool 70-75
newspaper substrate
two hides, water bowl
UTH
humidity between 60-70%

Owned him for four weeks he's eaten all rat pups every 7 days.

70-75 is too cold.
79-81 cold / 88-90 hot

UTH needs to be on thermostat or dimmer switch checked daily.

as for the blue tint, no clue... someone else here will answer for you, but the first thing is add a picture!

It's on a thermostat

I disagree, 70-75 on the cool side is fine, that's where mine usually are. I wouldn't worry about it as long as he seems to be moving fine. It could be something as simple as ink from the newsprint or he might be getting ready to defecate and you can see it through his clear belly.

Heres a picture. His belly does seem to be much pinker than usual. Surely the blue is not a sign of shedding? He hasn't shed for me yet.
http://i64.tinypic.com/2ho8o45.jpg

Looks like poop to me.

Don't know If it's relevant or not but he also seems to much more frightened/aggressive. He's struck at the side of the rub at me, struck at his tail when handling (didn't connect though) and struck at my phone while picking it up to take a picture. I know he's young and still very frightened, but over the four weeks I've had him he struck twice when I brought him home first and only this last few days has started to again.

I don't think that that is a large build up of poo - it looks too much like a bruise. Bruising is caused by bleeding of the small blood vessels under the skin so if it spreads I'd be concerned that maybe something more is going on, also the red at the base of the blueish spot looks like inflammation / infection. I would keep a very close eye on his behavior, aggression can be a pain response. It may be time for a vet visit.

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Originally Posted by Crowfingers

I don't think that that is a large build up of poo - it looks too much like a bruise. Bruising is caused by bleeding of the small blood vessels under the skin so if it spreads I'd be concerned that maybe something more is going on, also the red at the base of the blueish spot looks like inflammation / infection. I would keep a very close eye on his behavior, aggression can be a pain response. It may be time for a vet visit.

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Quite a bit of his belly is pinkish, could it be likely that he is in fact backed up and also getting ready to shed soon? When I first got him he poo'd once a week for 2-3 weeks ish. I've had nothing for a week and a bit. I know it's quite normal for bp's to not stool for a month or even over but its a possibility as he was going regular and hasn't for a while now. Also I've had him for 4 weeks and the breeder didn't mention that his last shed was recent so it's probably not far off?

If a vet visit is needed then that's what I'll do. The last thing I want is for him to worsen if there is something wrong. It'll be an easy £100 visit though so I'd like to know it's very unlikely to be poo lol. I appreciate your responses though, it's starting to worry me now.

Like MarkS said looks like poo. I think maybe the reason it looks like a bruise is bc his belly is distorting the color. Keep an eye on it for a few days and if it gets worse or he doesnt poop then take him to the vet.

Looks like one of mine when they're getting ready to shed, and are holding their poop. Urates, that paler section there by the vent, and poop behind it, so that when they're done shedding they leave a nice big pile of both.

Thanks people. I will keep a close eye on him over the next few days and see if it worsens etc. If it does I'll be sure to take him to a vet asap. I feel that his colour has slightly darkened so this could be another sign of going into shed? Do BPs generally get more aggressive when they're nearing shed? Even if their eyes are not capped over? I'd like to know why he's being such an ars****e recently! Ha!

Thanks again guys I'll probably be able to sleep tonight now.

I checked on him this morning and he'd made a huge mess. Over half of his newspaper was soaked so I immediately got him out to change it. There was also the white part of stool in there about a chewing gum size. On a quick inspection the blue colouration seems to have gone and his lower body seems to be completely normal! There wasn't a monster stool in there for me though.. Since the time I've had him I can't say I've noticed him pee, I've assumed that if he has it's been small and evaporated/dried. It looks as if that blue colour and swelling size was all urine!? Is that possible? I'll have another good look on handling later but he appears to have passed it! Thank god!

He's about to take a huuuuge dump

Good news! Glad to hear he is getting back to normalcy. :)

Thanks guys. I will continue to monitor him and make sure he's doing well. I'll let you all know how he's doing in a few days as I think this thread could help someone in the future. Can I just ask, when BP's urinate, is it usually a large amount like I found this morning? And how often do they usually go? Thanks.

Their pee is the chalky white chunks you may see when they poop, they don't literally pee. Sometimes there can just be urates, too.

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Glad to hear everything came out okay. Like birds the urates excreted by snakes are a white solid paste usually with a little bit of moisture though they will also often have a very messy diarrhea like movement as well. Things should be back to normal now very quickly. How is his attitude now that he's not blocked up anymore?

I would disagree with saying that they don't pee... Because mine most certainly do, when they are passing urates. Yellowish-clear liquid, with a distinct aroma, and frequently a whole bunch all at once. When it dries, it leaves a yellow stain on the newprint I use for substrate. I caught my pastel pied boy, Fion, in the act once - heard a strange sound, rushed over to make sure everything was okay... and I think he was passing a bit of gas, along with the pee, and that's what I heard. He was not impressed with being interrupted!

Yep, mine pee. Or else soak the substrate some other way without dumping the water dish :p. My tortoise too---pees and passes urates. I think the urates are the minerals/waste in the urine, and when they pee it's just excess liquid. That way if water is scarce they can just retain the liquid and still pass the waste part. But most pets have plenty of water.

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Originally Posted by Fraido

...they don't literally pee...

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They most certainly do. Both urine and urates are common.

I guess I did know that, lol. It's pretty evident when they go. That was early in the morning.. sort of.. when I said that... not a morning person right here. 😅

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Originally Posted by Fraido

I guess I did know that, lol. It's pretty evident when they go. That was early in the morning when I said that... not a morning person right here. 😅

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Yeah. Get yourself peed on one time - then you'll certainly remember no matter what time of day it is. ;)

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Originally Posted by Eric Alan

Yeah. Get yourself peed on one time - then you'll certainly remember no matter what time of day it is. ;)

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I have. 😂 Pee'd on and poo'd. Don't mind my morning stupidness, I can be smart, I swear! Hahaha

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Originally Posted by Eric Alan

Yeah. Get yourself peed on one time - then you'll certainly remember no matter what time of day it is. ;)

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Ugh... Shasal, my Ultrafly girl, seems to save it up just to try and get me! If she's got sausage-butt... she does NOT come out of the tub. I had to throw out the chair she doused - I couldn't get the smell out of the leather.

Edit - forgot to include. Mine usually pee anywhere from every few days, to once every couple weeks, depending on which snake it is. Everybody's different. I can pretty much guarantee all six go one way or the other by cleaning all the cages, though. Nothing begs a big poop or pee more than a clean cage.

I've got a couple that just wait until you pick them up. Then they'll go real still. That's when it's time to look for the nearest waste bucket and if it's more than a step or 2 away, you're already to late. :rolleyes:

Glad it was just a lot of stool...bet that as fun to clean up :/ My ball is a dark mojave, so I'd never see a color change. He just gets sausage butt :) I guess you learn something new every day

A quick update guys, the blue colour and 'swolen' tail have gone. He seems to have chilled out and hasn't struck at the side of the RUB since. At this point like others predicted I'm sure that for whatever reason he was backed up which probably put him in an aggetated mood. Thanks again for all your replies, hope this thread can help someone in the future!

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Originally Posted by Fraido

I guess I did know that, lol. It's pretty evident when they go. That was early in the morning.. sort of.. when I said that... not a morning person right here. 😅

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I was thinking about birds! Lol I realize now that birds were what I had on my mind when I responded to this, they're both exotic animals...

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Glad to hear he is perfectly fine.:)

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