My ball python is currently 600g, probably about a year old. Last night, my boyfriend woke me up because he had heard a loud, strange noise from him and was concerned. We opened the tub to find a large poop and my ball python staring straight up. The loud noise must have been him pooping loudly.

However, with the poop, there was a very small amount of blood. I removed him to clean and check him. His vent was slightly reddened and returned to normal after 10 minutes. He had no mucus visible in or around his nostrils and no evidence of respiratory distress (checked due to the staring upwards). He was very active as I held him and seemed perfectly happy. I also checked on him this morning and he seemed fine, although unhappy at being woken up. There was no staring upwards seen after picking him up.

i believe that he just pooped a bit too forcefully, thus the bit of blood and is fine. I have volunteered at a wildlife rehab center for 3+ years among other things , so I have a decent amount of experience with visual health assessments for a variety of species, but there is just more anxiety when it's yours.

i am more than happy to take him to the vet if necessary, but I think that there's no need and the car ride will just freak him out. I did up the humidity a bit as before this time, he decided not to poop for three weeks until after I gave him a bath to encourage him. This time was only a week after that, so I want to make sure he is not slightly dehydrated. He does have fresh water at all times and has yet to refuse a meal.

Anything I should be concerned about or should I just leave him to his comfy life of hiding 20+ hours a day?