New ball python not pooping

[Kharrison108]

Hi there! I'm a new ball python owner and my new male is 11 months old and ate twice. But I've had him 3 weeks and he hasn't pooped. I've given him a few minute soak in warm water every other day. I also felt 2 small hard deposits by his anus, and they did move back when slightly messaged. But still nothing. Please advise what I should try next. I'm not adverse to more massaging or trying to gently pick them out. Any chance it's twisted or something worse. )-: Any advise would be awesome. Below are details of my setup. Not sure if low humidity caused this. Please let me know. Thanks! Kelly

Tank: Warm side, undertank heater with thermostat at 104, air in hide box is around 87-90 degrees.
Humidity has been a challenge. I'm trying for 60%, a lot it's been 45-50%
Aspen shavings - I'm gonna swap out for forest floor
He's always on the cool hide box most of the time which is around 70-76 degrees.
I've given him brief warm water soaks for just a few minutes in a plastic tub with a couple inches of warm water and put him back in cage damp.

He's so sweet! Please help.
Kelly

[Homebody]

Tank: Warm side, undertank heater with thermostat at 104, air in hide box is around 87-90 degrees.
Humidity has been a challenge. I'm trying for 60%, a lot it's been 45-50%
Aspen shavings - I'm gonna swap out for forest floor
He's always on the cool hide box most of the time which is around 70-76 degrees.

I'm not so worried about the pooping. 3 weeks isn't excessively long. I am more concerned about your temps. What the thermostat is set to isn't the most important thing. What matters is the highest surface temp your BP has access to, preferably as measured by an infrared thermometer. Do you know the interior temperature of the glass right above the UTH? That should be about 90F. Also, 70F is too cool. You need to get your cool side temps closer to 80F. This site has a first class care guide you may find it worthwhile to consult.

[Bogertophis]

... I also felt 2 small hard deposits by his anus, and they did move back when slightly messaged. But still nothing. Please advise what I should try next. I'm not adverse to more massaging or trying to gently pick them out. Any chance it's twisted or something worse. )-: Any advise would be awesome....

Sounds like he might have a couple of urate crystal "stones"- if they're small enough, he can expel them himself, but under no circumstances should YOU try "to gently pick them out" because you're likely to cause internal damage & infection than be of any help. First off, 3 weeks without defecating is really nothing for a snake- he's NOT necessarily constipated- so either be patient & continue for a while to ensure his humidity is on the high side (65-70%)- the soaks are stressful for most snakes but might help his hydration; also, if you can have him in your bathtub in shallow lukewarm water & doing swimming motions, that can help greatly for a constipated snake to expel hard feces or urate stones.

One thing about soaking a snake- the water should NOT feel warm to you- if it does, it's TOO HOT for the snake. We are roughly 98.6*- and water for a snake to soak in should be no more than mid-80s, which is going to feel cool to us, but not to your cold-blooded snake. So always use a thermometer/or temp. gun to check the water temperature for a snake- your hand or wrist is not accurate for this.

Or call an experienced herp vet for an appointment.

Has he been eating regularly? If so, that should help to push out small urate stones, but at some point they can be too big for a snake to do that comfortably or without help. As for what else the hard lumps could be, it's unlikely they're any sort of tumor since they're moveable. Urate stones are far more common, as well as more likely, in snakes. Especially a young snake too.

And yes, stop using aspen shavings- they're dehydrating (they absorb the humidity) & not helpful for snakes that need humidity.

If you need to find such a vet nearest you, this site can help: https://arav.site-ym.com/search/custom.asp?id=3661

[dakski]

I agree with what's been said. Not having waste for a bit is okay. Temps do not sound ok. 86-88F hot side at the ground. 78-80F cool side. Humidity should be 50-60%. 75% okay in shed, but not sustained.

No aspen.

Soaking ok, but only with warm water - 75-85F - checked with a thermometer or temp gun.

A temp gun is how you should be checking your ground temps. Air temps do not mean as much.

Any other questions, just ask. We are here to help.

Good luck and keep us posted.

[mistergreen]

Funny this came up. I was cleaning one out for my BP, and noticed another one that looked as if it may have been there a while. It was under a raised tube of cork, so your snake may have and you're not seeing it. Just a thought.