Strange Ball Python Poop

Hello everyone.

Recently my Ball Python Oliver has been having some strange poop. I’m at lost for what it could be. When it first started, I took him to the vet with some of his feces and they couldn’t find anything wrong physically. We were going to get a fecal but they revealed it would be very expensive so we decided to wait to see if it continued, in case it had been a bad mouse. It has continued. Has anyone seen anything like this before? I will probably schedule another vet visit. I’m at loss for how he could have gotten sick. I’ve had him for a little more than a year. I’m planning on weighing him hopefully tomorrow to see if he lost weight (he was 500 grams at the time of the vet visit).

Oliver is a 2 year old, calico Ball Python. His warm side is around 90-95 degrees F and his cool side is about 72-75 degrees F. He is fed a f/t adult mouse every week. His humidity is around 50%-60% and he has a humidifier. This is my first time using the forum so sorry if I’m attaching images wrong.

Here is his feces:
https://i.postimg.cc/rFcQqn36/18-AFB...-FBB2-AB71.jpg
https://i.postimg.cc/HxRRSwkY/4-C158...97821-BAF2.jpg

Here is his enclosure:
https://i.postimg.cc/FKDQxkSz/C7948-...ED480-C7-F.jpg

Here is Oliver:
https://i.postimg.cc/t4bTSPsN/4-D7-E...181-AB8-CF.jpg

I don't have an opinion about his fecal-photos, but I'd keep his highest temperatures not over 88-90*, & his lower temperatures are on the cool side- you want more like 78-80*.

And for posting pics: https://ball-pythons.net/forums/show...-Post-Pictures

The feces looks like something one of my bp experienced recently. Ended up having a fecal exam done and he had internal parasites. Gave him several doses of panacur from the vet. I'm not sure where it got them, as I had it since it was a hatchling. Vet said it could of had them since born, or from a rat possibly.

Also: a fecal exam (where the vet looks at fecal sample using microscope) should NOT be all that expensive, unless your definition of "expensive" differs considerably from mine?

That’s what I thought but it seemed they wanted to send it off to the lab to be examined. The check up was $70 and after adding the future fecal examine they said it would be $120 ($50 for the fecal) when, at the time, he had just regurgitated which happens once in a while apparently. Is that the normal price? I’ll pay it if he really needs it but it didn’t seem necessary when we took him while now it does, since his poop is worsening. I’ll have to ask them to do the microscope instead of whatever they wanted to do I guess.

I can see where sending it off to a lab would be expensive- as opposed to just doing a fecal float in the office. I wonder why they think that's necessary?

I have no idea where you're located, & some places obviously charge a lot more than others. In case you want another opinion: https://arav.site-ym.com/search/custom.asp?id=3661

It's NOT normal for a snake to just "regurgitate...once in a while...", that concerns me- but that could be poor husbandry* (cage temps. too low, or handling too soon after feeding, etc- things that you can & must fix yourself) OR it could be signs of illness- no way we can tell you for sure here.

***HAVE YOU fixed his cage temps.? (see my post #2 above) If not, that could BE the problem- the warm side is too hot, so he spends time where it's too chilly for him to digest properly. So BEFORE you run back to the vet, YOU need to fix the temperatures. That can make ALL the difference. And give it time to see if that helps.

No amount of money spent at the vet is going to solve the problem if your snake's environment (cage temps., humidity & privacy) aren't right. Even if he's actually sick or has parasites, he still needs the correct accommodations or he won't get healthy.

Yeah I fixed the temps actually, so that’s good. I meant that he regurgitated near the beginning of winter where my room would get cold at night so I got a room heater and assumed the temperatures were the issues. I had the temperatures higher because also before the vet visit he was making breathing noises but the vet didn’t find anything so I increased the temps to try and help him fight it off. I’ve always had trouble with the cool end but I positioned my room heater near his cage and that seemed to fix the problem. I’ll double check his temperatures now and feed him tomorrow and see how he does... This has been going on for a little while now do that’s why I wanted to take him to the vet since it hasn’t been getting better on it’s own. He’s had really runny feces.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by RyanLovesSneks24

Yeah I fixed the temps actually, so that’s good. I meant that he regurgitated near the beginning of winter where my room would get cold at night so I got a room heater and assumed the temperatures were the issues. I had the temperatures higher because also before the vet visit he was making breathing noises but the vet didn’t find anything so I increased the temps to try and help him fight it off. I’ve always had trouble with the cool end but I positioned my room heater near his cage and that seemed to fix the problem. I’ll double check his temperatures now and feed him tomorrow and see how he does... This has been going on for a little while now do that’s why I wanted to take him to the vet since it hasn’t been getting better on it’s own. He’s had really runny feces.

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Okay, it helps to have a little more information here. If you trust your vet, then by all means get his stool checked out so he can be given the proper therapeutic medication to clear up what's ailing him. His issue might be bacterial or protozoan, & the right medication will hopefully put him right again easily enough. Let me remind you that diarrhea can dehydrate even humans to the point of causing shock, circulatory collapse & ultimately death. (Regurgitation also causes dehydration- that's part of the reason it's dangerous for snakes, the other is because they can aspirate into their lungs- they aren't really "designed" to barf so easily- snakes cannot cough either.) It's important to note that even if he's being dosed with the right medication, his enclosure needs to be kept clean (free of fecal material) so that he doesn't re-infect himself with what's ailing him.

Alright temps are fixed. The heating mat is large so it varies quite a bit but is generally around 90. I’ve placed my room heater near the cool end of his enclosure so hopefully that will help. I’m hoping to clean his cage two days from now since I’m feeding him tonight. I bumped up the humidity a bit since it was getting low and diarrhea can cause dehydration. His poop has been very watery and I’ve never seen him drink so that’s worrying... will the now higher humidity help? He’s due to go into shed soon but is a bit late. I usually feed him the mouse while it’s wet to give him a bit of moisture, is that affecting anything?

Snakes often drink water at night, when you aren't looking or are asleep. Don't worry about sheds being on a schedule- no such thing really- they shed when they've grown enough.