I would have to disagree that "Balls normally defecate every four to six weeks" for several reasons. First, every snake is an individual, and all of those individuals are living creatures, not machines - so there is no hard-and-fast rule of how often they defecate. I currently own 3 BP's, but grew up raising a collection of just under 100 colubrids along with a BP (LTC) and a scattering of small boas. I have lived a collective 4 years of my life without owning any reptiles.

Of my current Ball Pythons, my 2005 female tends to defecate like clockwork on the fifth day after she eats. I think there have been only two times she took longer since I bought her last June. My male, also a 2005, tends to take longer than anything else I have ever seen - maybe he falls into that 4-to-6-weeks johnavilla spoke of, but I haven't calculated that out. Either way, I keep an eye on him, and soak him when I feel he needs some encouragement to pass whatever he has. With my oldest female, I have seen such a range of times for how long it can take her to defecate, that I have given up trying to predict her digestive system. I've seen her defecate in as little as maybe 3 or 4 days after eating - and this is maybe 50% of the time - and the long extreme has been several weeks. I keep all of my BP's on newspaper, and feed (most of) them in plastic bins that have no substrate at all, so I know mine are not ingesting any substrate. What I am seeing in my snakes is just some natural variation. That is why record keeping is essential - so that you can keep track of what is "normal" for each individual.

As for the original question concerning impaction, you said the last time she ate was the 8th, and you don't feed until after you've verified she has defecated. I am inferring from that that she last defecated on the 8th or before that. So as of today, she has had something in her gut for no more than 11 days. Since this sounds unusual for her, I would suggest that you gently palpate her body while you hold her.

What works best for me (when my fingernails aren't very long) is to handle the snake and arrange the animal so it has to crawl with its belly centered over either the pad of my thumb, or the pads of my four fingers on one hand. The last half of the body is the most important to palpate here, but since you are concerned that ingested substrate may be an issue, it would be a good idea to palpate the snake like this over her entire length (which could take several passes and a little bit of time). Ideally, she has probably digested her last meal and is just taking her own sweet time to poop. If this is the case, you will probably be able to feel the mass of poop in her gut before her vent. If it doesn't feel like a rock, she's probably fine. If it feels a bit hard (and dry) then she will probably benefit from a little help (see below). If it feels like a rock, you probably want to talk to a vet, but I wouldn't guess that would be the case after only 11 days.

Incidentally, since you are concerned about ingested substrate, have you seen her pass any substrate before?

One of the best laxatives I have ever seen for a snake is clean water. When I have a snake that I am mildly concerned about not pooping, I will soak them in mildly warm water (NOT what you would shower in - just warm enough to argue that it is warm and not cold) for about 20 minutes, and when possible, I will continue to handle the snake while soaking. When I do this, I try to encourage the snake to poop by stroking about the last half or third of the animal towards the tail, putting just slight pressure on the belly as I do this. This is similar to how you would rub a dog's throat to encourage it to swallow a pill.

After 20 minutes' soak, if I haven't succeeded in getting the snake to poop, I put them back in their cage and try again the next day.

This has worked for me. By all means, try it if you like. Good luck to you!

~Rebecca
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0.1 Dumeril's Boa '04 (Courtney)
1.2 Ball Pythons



0.2 American Pit Bull Terriers (40lb darling lap dogs:Brandy&Mara)

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