Chronic constipation problem

I have had snakes off and on sense the mid 1960s.
I have had eastern hognose, cornsnakes, gartersnakes but never Ball Pythons.
I got my first last August, actually it's my wife's be cause she fell in love with it.
After a couple months I got myself one, a male Queenbee.
Then my wife got a Pied.
So I have had a crash course in BPs.
My problem is my Queenbee, about once a month he gets blown up like a balloon and I have to do a water soak at 92° for 30 minutes.
That has worked until now.
I did a soak yesterday and no results.
Did another soak today and still no results.
As I was looking him over, he has a very slight prolapse.
He was just fed last Sunday and he eagerly eats.
Does this sound like I need to get him to the vet?
Is there any supplement or something that could help him?
Thanks for your thoughts.

Might not be keeping his humidity high enough...dehydration can cause constipation, especially for BPs since they need very warm cages & don't move around much.
If you do soak a snake, you want the water about 85*; 92* is nearing harmful-uncomfortable, & often a constipated snake does better if they can swim in place (with
your support of his mid-section, & water not too deep, stay right there the whole time) in a bath tub or kiddie pool.

Post a pic of "slight prolapse" if you can. Does he eat f/t? If so, try feeding them damp/wet (to add hydration).

I have a Reptirain on his viv and the humidity stays constant around 80%.
I have a hard time with pictures on this site but the prolapse is pink and protruding less than a millimeter.
As I was looking at it with him rolled over, it seemed to pull back in almost completely.
Thanks for the bath temp, I had read that it should be 92° but as usual, garbage found online.

I'm also thinking of not feeding him for a few weeks.
Oh and I do feed FT rat pups thawed in water and still wet.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Pine

I have a Reptirain on his viv and the humidity stays constant around 80%.
I have a hard time with pictures on this site but the prolapse is pink and protruding less than a millimeter.
As I was looking at it with him rolled over, it seemed to pull back in almost completely.
Thanks for the bath temp, I had read that it should be 92° but as usual, garbage found online.

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Not personally familiar w/ Reptirain but 80% humidity (unless in shed) is a little too much of a good thing ;) & obviously his dehydration isn't from low humidity.

Pondering what other factors can cause dehydration...no mites, I assume? How about his stool...have you ever had a fresh stool sample checked (for worms) by a herp. vet?

And I assume he has a water bowl (filled) at all times? (I still come across ppl who've been told that snakes don't need a bowl of water to drink, that's all wrong, since living in our houses is dehydrating, what with A/C & heat that both dry out the air. But I'm assuming that doesn't apply to you & your snake.)

I'm thinking that a prolapse of "less than a mm" is not significant & may only be related to a recent shed or recent defecation (especially when constipated, pushing out a urate 'stone' is rough on their cloaca") so you might want to give it some time (a few more days or a week) to see if it retracts on it's own? I hope so, & think it probably will.

Temps. -even the air in a BP's enclosure- you want to keep it at or below 90* for safety...92* isn't awful, it's at the high end of safety & better avoided IMO, but I would avoid immersing a snake in such hot water* since heat transfers far more effectively by water than thru air, & water tends to cover more of their body (ie. be harder to escape any discomfort) *Since our normal body temp. is nearly 100* (98.6*) water that's 90* will feel cool to us, but really isn't for a snake, so it's best to take the temp. of bath water.

A picture could really help.

https://ball-pythons.net/forums/show...-Post-Pictures

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Bogertophis

...have you ever had a fresh stool sample checked (for worms) by a herp. vet?

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Chronic intestinal swelling: I would suspect parasites as well.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Pine

I'm also thinking of not feeding him for a few weeks...

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Why? That's not likely to help...intestines (whether owned by humans or a snake) like having something to do. ;) When you don't eat for a while, it slows down, & that's NOT what you want here.

When you say swelled up does it feel hard or squishy like a balloon filled up with air?

Update on my Queenbee.
No parasites, not dehydrated and no blockage.
Vet said it's from lack of exercise. So I have been handling him at least every other day and he is doing just fine now.
Funny thing, my wife thought he needed more exercise too.
I guess some BPs are just naturally lethargic and this guy doesn't even hunt in his viv like all my other snakes do.