Baby ball python having diarrhea

[Bri123]

Hello everyone! This is my first time posting I this forum however I have been an avid reader for nearly a year now. I recently got my second ball python on September 9th of this year. He is about 3 months old and 90g. He hasn't eaten for me yet so this past Sunday I switched his setup to a tub setup - similar to the one described in hatchling 101 in the stickies, and I have pretty much left him alone since. Was gonna try feeding him again this Sunday. Temps are around 90 on the warm side and range from 78-80 on the cool side. Up until now he has stayed in his hide and never really come out. He shed yesterday and now tonight he is out and about however he has had some foul diarrhea as well. Is this something I should be concerned about? He hasn't eaten in a couple weeks now. Thanks in advance!

[Bogertophis]

Hi, & welcome. Congrats on getting your 2nd BP- Now, exactly what do you mean by "diarrhea"? Is he having repeated watery discharges, or just one episode of funky-nasty loose stool?

[Bri123]

Hi, & welcome. Congrats on getting your 2nd BP- Now, exactly what do you mean by "diarrhea"? Is he having repeated watery discharges, or just one episode of funky-nasty loose stool?

Thank you for your quick reply!

This was the first poop he has had since I've gotten him. I have cleaned up 1 or 2 urates that ive seen. The breeder said he was eating f/t rat fuzzies or larger sized f/t rat pinkies.



it looked like this (if I uploaded picture correctly)

[Bogertophis]

Thank you for your quick reply!

This was the first poop he has had since I've gotten him. I have cleaned up 1 or 2 urates that ive seen. The breeder said he was eating f/t rat fuzzies or larger sized f/t rat pinkies.

So it was just one time? I wouldn't worry- keep in mind that what he's eating is mostly digestible (meaning there's very little roughage from digesting baby rodents- they have minimal hair & muscle, & very small bones, so the stools produced tend to be quite soft or even runny. Most of us don't think about the fact that baby rodents are nursing, so they're full of milk- I wouldn't be a bit surprised if snakes are "lactose intolerant", & that's why you see some very funky-looking stools from hatchling & neonate snakes.

Also, stress of being new might well be a contributing factor. But if you see repeated or continuous episodes of "diarrhea" that's very watery- that can be very dehydrating (for snakes, just as it would be for us or any other pet) & therefore can be serious & need a medical intervention. Smell, well, that's pretty subjective- while it can be significant, feces that smell "good" are pretty rare, lol. IF you continue to see worrisome "output" from this snake though, by all means get a fresh sample to your herp veterinarian & have it checked out- it's possible he could use a treatment for something. And IF you see blood in the stool, or lots of mucus, those are especially significant signs to discuss with your vet.

For now, I'd wait & watch, from what you've described. But you're looking out for your new family member, & that's always the right thing to do- & it never hurts to ask & "compare notes" here.

[Bogertophis]

Thank you for your quick reply!

This was the first poop he has had since I've gotten him. I have cleaned up 1 or 2 urates that ive seen. The breeder said he was eating f/t rat fuzzies or larger sized f/t rat pinkies.



it looked like this (if I uploaded picture correctly)

That looks fairly typical for a "baby snake". (And human babies have NO room to brag either- just saying. )

And I've seen similar stuff plenty of times from young snakes.

Another thing to consider is that in his new home (with you) he's probably drinking water that's different from where he was housed previously- & if you're using municipal water supplies, there are generally some purification chemicals added to it. We get quite used to it, where we hardly notice it, but a little snake that's suddenly drinking water with a little more chlorine (etc) in it might well get an upset stomach. Especially since his prey isn't doing anything to counter any reaction he might have to the change in water.

Water that's perfectly safe for the human immune system (of any age) may contain minor contaminants that will bother your snake just a little bit too. I used to live in the desert, & in the summertime the water coming thru the pipes became a bit warm, even when you turned on the "cold" tap. When water sits in the pipes & it's warmer than usual, it may allow some minor bacterial contaminants to proliferate just a bit: I don't believe it was a coincidence that twice during the summertime, the mice I raised happened to come down with diarrhea, & had to be treated with doxycycline (which rendered those treated unsuitable as feeders, but kept my colony alive for the future generations that were fine). I happened to hear that others in the area that also raised rodents noticed the same problem during the summer- that's when it dawned on me that rodents don't have the same immune system that we do. So that's yet another possibility- not knowing where you live, of course.

[Bri123]

That looks fairly typical for a "baby snake". (And human babies have NO room to brag either- just saying. )

And I've seen similar stuff plenty of times from young snakes.

Another thing to consider is that in his new home (with you) he's probably drinking water that's different from where he was housed previously- & if you're using municipal water supplies, there are generally some purification chemicals added to it. We get quite used to it, where we hardly notice it, but a little snake that's suddenly drinking water with a little more chlorine (etc) in it might well get an upset stomach. Especially since his prey isn't doing anything to counter any reaction he might have to the change in water.

Water that's perfectly safe for the human immune system (of any age) may contain minor contaminants that will bother your snake just a little bit too. I used to live in the desert, & in the summertime the water coming thru the pipes became a bit warm, even when you turned on the "cold" tap. When water sits in the pipes & it's warmer than usual, it may allow some minor contaminants to proliferate just a bit: I don't think it was a coincidence that twice in the summertime, the mice I raised happened to come down with diarrhea, & had to be treated with doxycycline (which rendered those treated unsuitable as feeders, but kept my colony alive for the future generations that were fine). So that's yet another possibility- not knowing where you live, of course.

Thank you so so much! definitely put my mind at ease! My first ball python was nearly a year old when I had gotten him so I've never seen any that looked like this! You definitely made some good points that I hadn't considered! I'll definely keep an eye on him but I'm so relieved to hear that it looks fairly normal for a baby snake haha! I really appreciate the fast responses!

[Snow Balls]

That looks fairly typical for a "baby snake". (And human babies have NO room to brag either- just saying. )

And I've seen similar stuff plenty of times from young snakes.

Another thing to consider is that in his new home (with you) he's probably drinking water that's different from where he was housed previously- & if you're using municipal water supplies, there are generally some purification chemicals added to it. We get quite used to it, where we hardly notice it, but a little snake that's suddenly drinking water with a little more chlorine (etc) in it might well get an upset stomach. Especially since his prey isn't doing anything to counter any reaction he might have to the change in water.

Water that's perfectly safe for the human immune system (of any age) may contain minor contaminants that will bother your snake just a little bit too. I used to live in the desert, & in the summertime the water coming thru the pipes became a bit warm, even when you turned on the "cold" tap. When water sits in the pipes & it's warmer than usual, it may allow some minor bacterial contaminants to proliferate just a bit: I don't believe it was a coincidence that twice during the summertime, the mice I raised happened to come down with diarrhea, & had to be treated with doxycycline (which rendered those treated unsuitable as feeders, but kept my colony alive for the future generations that were fine). I happened to hear that others in the area that also raised rodents noticed the same problem during the summer- that's when it dawned on me that rodents don't have the same immune system that we do. So that's yet another possibility- not knowing where you live, of course.

Ive also read that when BPs are younger and are feeding on small prey items that have no fur tend to have diarrea or what looks like it due to the rat or mouse not having fur. The way I understood it is BPs don't digest rat hair very well an that's what normally holds their stools together

Boger is also VERY right about the human babies!!!