Blood in urine? PLEASE HELP

[Darian]

Hello,

Ok I am a little panicked, I have only had my BP for about a month and a half, and just came home to see what looked like a huge tear in the underside of the belly just before the tail. Very fatty/tissue in appearance, I then noticed some of the white feces/urine coming out... I panicked and figured his bowels/digestive track was pushed out of the skin (I have heard of this in humans... last night on Manswers actually). I Came directly here to this site as I have been learning lots from it and signed up to ask this question... by the time registration was done, the large "red sack" (size of a marble) was back inside the snake. I then did notice a very small amount of blood on the white stuff. I have never witnessed my Python "pooping/peeing" before, is this normal?

Please help, I am kinda freaked, happy its gone away but any advice would be much appreciated!

Thanks for taking the time to read.

[Shelby]

Hm.. hard to say without actually seeing it, but when snakes go potty, a bit of their insides will peek out as the vent comes open. It's reddish looking since there is a lot of blood vessels close to the surface.

Usually you don't see blood in the urates, though sometimes after a shed they bleed slightly at the vent.

[Darian]

ok, sounds better. I had planned on getting the camera out asap, but it was too late... which is a good thing, it was not small... but pretty big? I figured he is having problems kind of like constipation problems that can be found in humans? I am no vet though... can they do anything? Or would they need to see it happen?

[Shelby]

A good reptile vet (not a dog/cat vet) would be able to take a look/feel and probably tell you if anything's going on. Snakes do get constipated, that's true. Has he pooped in awhile? If not you can try soaking him in warmish water (not so deep that he has to swim) for an hour to help loosen him up.

[Darian]

Shelby,

Thanks so much for your quick replies, I will see if he has left any more in the morning and take it from there.

He seems to be "going" regular, and loves the water dish. From what I have read, he is the exact opposite from typical BP he is aggresive (he has actually lunged at me while walking by the cage, but he is ok with me handling him, never shows aggression to me when handling), never shows fear, I have not even seen him "ball" up yet. He started eating frozen no problem, has never refused food, eats it within seconds etc... Maybe I am lucky, but when researching them I thought I was going to have my hands full... (He was a gift... long story...lol)

So another not so urgent question... I was told by the store/breeder, if he will eat, feed him.. is there such thing as too much, I have just dropped down to once every 4-5 days. I was told to up the size of food, but he is still a little guy and is eating the frozen white mice, (hoppers, but the store said these were on the larger side than normal ones) He eats and within 24 hours usually he is fully active again, roaming and flicking

[Shelby]

Yes, you can overfeed snakes. Ball pythons have quite a slow metabolism.. eating and digesting takes a big toll on their body, their heart actually increases in size by quite a bit in order to digest a meal.

Just as with humans, being overweight is unhealthy.. plus that, if you feed too often, BPs are much more likely to go on a fast.

Typically you want to feed a young BP once a week.. something that is slightly smaller around than their body is at the widest point. An adult BP doesn't require anything larger than a small rat.

[Darian]

Hello,

Everything seemed fine, but yet again, I noticed the same thing. I have never witnessed my BP "doing his business" but this does not look normal... And like before... it has now disappeared...

[Shelby]

Hm.. that isn't normal. It almost looks like partially everted hemipenes..

Was he pooping when this happened again, or was it just random? I'd take him for a visit to the vet personally.

If you need help finding a good reptile vet, you can look in this directory: http://www.arav.org/Directory.htm

[Darian]

Yes, he is, he does his "thing" then it goes away? I will be sure to find a local reptile vet as you suggested...

Thanks.

[Shelby]

Hm.. well I admit I don't usually watch my snakes poop, but I haven't seen that before.