What in the world is this? (Warning gross image)

I fed one of my baby ball pythons tonight, and about an hour later found this in his enclosure. No idea what it is or even which end it came out of. There’s this white stringy thing that sort of looks like a parasite and also this goopy stuff and little yellow specks. It seems like it should be a regurgitation but I didn’t know the rat would be that digested and the white stringy thing is really bizarre. Only thing I can think of is it’s a parasite or he somehow puked up part of his intestinal lining. He’s only ever eaten frozen thawed since hatching out of the egg so a parasite would surprise me. Any thoughts appreciated.


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If you showed that me photo with no back story: I would say it looks like a coconut seed embryo starting to germinate. :)

Parasite transmission can occur from frozen rodents, as normal freezing doesn't necessarily kill parasite eggs. (example source)

That could be a roundworm, but hard to say sometimes even up close. The goopy stuff might just be mucus. The yellow dots remind me of Leucocoprinus birnbaumii, a very common fungus in herp enclosures (the yellow dots of that fungus are a distinctive part of the mycelium), which could have been ingested accidentally or may have been on the substrate where the goop landed.

Unless it is obvious one way or the other from an up-close inspection, I'd personally run that into the vet to get their input on the long white thing (and possibly include a fecal sample if one was available).

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Originally Posted by tegu

I fed one of my baby ball pythons tonight, and about an hour later found this in his enclosure. No idea what it is or even which end it came out of. There’s this white stringy thing that sort of looks like a parasite and also this goopy stuff and little yellow specks. It seems like it should be a regurgitation but I didn’t know the rat would be that digested and the white stringy thing is really bizarre. Only thing I can think of is it’s a parasite or he somehow puked up part of his intestinal lining. He’s only ever eaten frozen thawed since hatching out of the egg so a parasite would surprise me. Any thoughts appreciated.

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How's your snake? Does he seem o.k.?

He has been eating just fine and looks perfectly healthy I’ve just never seen a snake expel something like that


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Save the whole thing in a ziploc bag in the refrigerator if you can. I once had a snake poop something similar to the white object and it ended up being a tapeworm. A vet can check it out to determine if it’s a parasite and then prescribe proper treatment. A full fecal work up on this snake would be ideal.

And FYI, often times a snake with tapeworms will eat really well and not show much if any obvious signs of illness. But over time you will notice that they don’t gain weight like they should, especially with how well they are eating. Once you treat the parasite(s) that will resolve.

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Originally Posted by Malum Argenteum

Parasite transmission can occur from frozen rodents, as normal freezing doesn't necessarily kill parasite eggs. (example source)

That could be a roundworm, but hard to say sometimes even up close. The goopy stuff might just be mucus. The yellow dots remind me of Leucocoprinus birnbaumii, a very common fungus in herp enclosures (the yellow dots of that fungus are a distinctive part of the mycelium), which could have been ingested accidentally or may have been on the substrate where the goop landed.

Unless it is obvious one way or the other from an up-close inspection, I'd personally run that into the vet to get their input on the long white thing (and possibly include a fecal sample if one was available).

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Thanks for the insight this was very helpful


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That’s an interesting point about the tapeworm. Do those come from the rodents?


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Originally Posted by tegu

That’s an interesting point about the tapeworm. Do those come from the rodents?


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Tapeworms are contracted when the reptile eats a food item or drinks water that is infected with a tapeworm egg. Which could happen in a variety of ways. If that is what you have here we won’t likely know for certain the source, and it could have been infected prior to you getting it. But the important thing is to get it treated so the snake can thrive and grow.

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Originally Posted by mlededee

Tapeworms are contracted when the reptile eats a food item or drinks water that is infected with a tapeworm egg. Which could happen in a variety of ways. If that is what you have here we won’t likely know for certain the source, and it could have been infected prior to you getting it. But the important thing is to get it treated so the snake can thrive and grow.

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My main concern was whether it’s my rodents. I guess you can’t know for sure, but I hatched this guy myself and he has eaten nothing but rodent pro f/t rats since hatching out of the egg. I’ve got hundreds of dollars of rodent pro rats in the freezer and would be upset if they were giving my snakes tape worms.


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I've never seen a tapeworm myself. Any chance that could be the rats tail?

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Originally Posted by tegu

My main concern was whether it’s my rodents. I guess you can’t know for sure, but I hatched this guy myself and he has eaten nothing but rodent pro f/t rats since hatching out of the egg. I’ve got hundreds of dollars of rodent pro rats in the freezer and would be upset if they were giving my snakes tape worms.


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Rodent Pro is at the top of many 'worst' lists when it comes to feeder quality (I've never ordered from them myself, so this is hearsay). That said, general quality need not have any connection to intestinal parasites. Rodents are communally raised, and so a minor parasite problem could be widespread without anyone noticing even when they're very well taken care of (which, based on the price of feeder rodents, I'll bet they're not). Feeder insects carry a lot of pathogens, too (source) -- that's just the normal state of affairs when dealing with whole animals, especially those for which low cost is a prime selling point.

If you want parasite free rodents, you could buy some breeding stock, worm them (with a withdrawal period), then breed them. To be assured of clean rodents, you'd have to exclude wild rodents and insects from the breeding and food storage areas, since they can carry parasites. Periodic fecal checks wouldn't be a bad idea, too, since antihelminthics are not necessarily 100% effective. Probably not worth the trouble, given that the risk of real problems from parasitized rodents is minimal.

There's been some chatter lately that many feeder rodents sold are produced elsewhere under basically no scrutiny, so some rodents may be more likely to have relevant concerns than others. Hard to say, since the feeder industry hides behind their marketing.

Best to get a confirmed diagnosis before jumping to any conclusions, of course.

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Originally Posted by tegu

My main concern was whether it’s my rodents. I guess you can’t know for sure, but I hatched this guy myself and he has eaten nothing but rodent pro f/t rats since hatching out of the egg. I’ve got hundreds of dollars of rodent pro rats in the freezer and would be upset if they were giving my snakes tape worms.

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Do let us know if you see any other oddities.
I'm still leaning against the parasite diagnosis myself, but, in the event I was wrong: I do recommend that you keep your hands clean post-handling...
You do not want to end up a 'world's first' like this woman:
https://www.technologynetworks.com/d...ntified-378379
:)

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Originally Posted by Lord Sorril

Do let us know if you see any other oddities.
I'm still leaning against the parasite diagnosis myself, but, in the event I was wrong: I do recommend that you keep your hands clean post-handling...
You do not want to end up a 'world's first' like this woman:
https://www.technologynetworks.com/d...ntified-378379
:)

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I’ll be able to schedule my vet appointment tomorrow and we shall see. Hoping it’s just a one off or can be cured with de-wormer. I have been very careful with his enclosure and keeping myself clean because I didn’t want to spread it to my other snakes.


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Originally Posted by tegu

I’ll be able to schedule my vet appointment tomorrow and we shall see.

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Any updates on this one?

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Originally Posted by Lord Sorril

Any updates on this one?

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I was only just able to get him into the vet. Holiday and some personal stuff made me have to wait a lot longer than I would have liked to. For a little bit the vet was freaked out about the possibility of cryptosporidium because it looked like the white thing could have been intestinal tissue. But after looking at it under the microscope, they confirmed it was not intestinal tissue or a parasite. After seeing that and the fact that I produced the baby myself they say it is far less likely to be cryptosporidium. What exactly it is wasn’t able to be determined. They said whatever it is doesn’t contain tissue cells so it doesn’t appear to be regurgitated rat parts either.

They are thinking it is most likely just enteritis, but couldn’t diagnose anything for certain.


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He is being treated with metronidazole and I’ll be eyeing food intake and fecal passings


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