Snake poo

[Venoshock]

Just a thread asking how often your snakes defecate and how much! When I first got Carl home she pooped often but in very small pieces and now its very spread out (like after every 5 meals or so) and is much larger. And then she'll peek out kind of like "well I wonder who left that there"

Example


She pooped in that cardboard hide too. Shame because it was her favorite.

[Navaro]

Snakes are incredibly efficient in regards to waste. Keeping in mind defecation is just that. Waste.

Anything that isn't used, is passed out as a toxin and expelled as waste. A growing snake has little waste.

It's not uncommon for a snake to defecate every 6 - 8 weeks while growing (depending on age and size), and even then some can go longer, and often it's timed with a shed.



If your worried about impaction, there are other more obvious signs than lack of poop. The vent area, will be hard, and non-malleable like it normally should be, when you run your finger along it. It's fairly obvious for even those that aren't experienced in it.

[Venoshock]

I'm not particularly worried I was just wondering in regards to others' snakes. Like the whole rhyme and rhythm and schedules and all that. Just the normal routine and what one should expect from snakes at various ages I guess!

[Navaro]

Ah all good. Some species can vary quite a bit, but generally temperatures, both ambient and belly determine the metabolizing rate.

Ambients at 85 - 88 show a dramatic increase in both frequency and size of defecation, than say ambient of 78 - 81.

Small numbers to us, quite large to snakes.


Generally most snakes synchronize their defecation with the shedding process. To leave behind a smaller 'print' on their surroundings. Generally a substrate and enclosure that is cleaned less frequently will result in less frequent defecation too.


Anywhere between 4-8 weeks is considering pretty 'normal'. Some more frequently some less. I've known snakes to defacate in smaller quanities shortly after each feeding like clockwork. And some to defecate purely when they shed. It's pretty individual, taking husbandry into consideration.

[Morris Reese]

I'm not particularly worried I was just wondering in regards to others' snakes. Like the whole rhyme and rhythm and schedules and all that. Just the normal routine and what one should expect from snakes at various ages I guess!

I have an app that I use to track feeding, weight, length, shedding, and defecation. I can almost predict everything with the exception of refusing to eat and defecations! Those are always a surprise!!!!

[Venoshock]

Thanks Navaro! I'll jot those temps down for future reference

I have an app that I use to track feeding, weight, length, shedding, and defecation. I can almost predict everything with the exception of refusing to eat and defecations! Those are always a surprise!!!!

Oh that sounds really helpful! What's the app called? Maybe I'll end up using it.

[Morris Reese]

Thanks Navaro! I'll jot those temps down for future reference



Oh that sounds really helpful! What's the app called? Maybe I'll end up using it.

It's called SnakeKeeper. It's very good for small collections. It's free for one snake and only like $2 for multiple snakes.

[Tayler.jonesy]

My butters is about a year old, I assume. He usually poops once a month, sometimes twice. Then sometimes he'll go like 6 to 8 weeks without pooping and freaks me out. Is that normal for his age?
And usually his poops are pretty big. Reading above comments making me think I'm doing something wrong. Hmmm.


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[Navaro]

My butters is about a year old, I assume. He usually poops once a month, sometimes twice. Then sometimes he'll go like 6 to 8 weeks without pooping and freaks me out. Is that normal for his age?
And usually his poops are pretty big. Reading above comments making me think I'm doing something wrong. Hmmm.


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Perfectly normal. 4 to 8 weeks generally, and the size always surprises people.

[Tayler.jonesy]

Perfectly normal. 4 to 8 weeks generally, and the size always surprises people.

I just sized him up to 40gram mice, does that mean he's gonna poop less because he has more to digest? I'm also afraid it was a bit big for him, usually feed him once every week, but would feeding him another mouse that big cause problems? Im thinking maybe do a big mouse one week, little mouse next week routine


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