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So I was doing my weekly cage cleaning today and I was going to feed my ball but I will only feed her after I find poop in the tank and I see that she's hungry because she "hunts" kind of, like sticks her head out of wherever she's hiding like she's waiting for something to come by...anyway, there was nothing.

Last time she was fed was on Thursday the 8th. Prior to that she'd been ingesting small pieces of substrate (cypress), I think I posted about it a while back but was told not to worry. I don't keep records on my animals (which I now realize I reaallly have to keep up on), and I have a terrible memory so I can't tell you the last time I found poop in her tank. Also been having problems with humidity (very low) but I'm trying to fix that...anyway is there any way she might be impacted, how much has to be ingested for her to become so, and how much longer should I wait to see if she poops before I should get her checked out?

And this is her...

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0.1 ball python (Kilimanjaro)
1.0 amel corn snake (Houdini)
0.0.1 leopard gecko (Charlie)
1.1 cats (Kitty & Milo)
0.1 mouse (Creepers)

I don't know if you are dealing with impaction but it sounds like you may have another issue. Balls normally defecate every four to six weeks. They normally feed once a week. If you are only feeding your snake when it defecates than it probably isn't getting enough food. All will go well on that schedule unless it decides to go on a winter hunger strike or stops eating due to illness or some other unpredictable reason. Then things could start going wrong.
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"yeah, eagles have feathers hanging off of them too and I don't smoke --- out of them!" PS it was a dream catcher!

I agree with above. Feed her weekly. They go along time befor the defacate. I am sure she is fine otherwise.

Unfortunately, I have to disagree.

All of my snakes that eat on a weekly basis defecate almost as often as they eat. Unless a snake is on feed-off, I've never had an animal go 4 to 6 weeks without defecating.

I realize that not all animals are the same, and not everyone feeds on the smae schedule. If I had an animal that was eating regularly and not defecating, I'd probably have it checked out if it lasted a month. Even if it turn out fine, what could it hurt besides possibly saving it's life?

As for substrate in the mouth, I've had snakes swallow some and be fine. More than likely, you have nothing to worry about. I would feed her again as scheduled.

I wish you luck!

-John

they go when they want to........some that are fed rats alot and often (overfed) will defecate alot.......usually they will only go every other week to 4......I have seen months between defecations........smaller balls go more often......big girls eat and hold it ........balls are actually slow digesters..they hold the item until all the nutrients are taken from it...in captivity we overfeed and therefore they have to go more often ,even though they don't get 100 % from it........baby snakes that go alot tend to smell worse.....it isn't fully broken down.......some people feed to the point of runny ,smelly,off colored feces...........it should smell like feces and be solid and dark ........

........try over feeding ratsnakes chicks......you'll see what I mean......
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.................too many babies left .......

I agree , I feed my balls once to twice a week depending on their behavoir , they will tell you when they are hungry this is why it is very important to take alittle time out of your schedules to just observe your beautiful pets , remember this is why we purchased them in the first place, I always look at the waste my snakes expel , if it is very dark I know that the balls have absorbed all of the nutreints out of the prey animal , and thats what I want to see so I feel that you should just feed every five to seven days this gives the snakes digestive system a chance to really break down the prey , remember also to make sure their is adequate heat in your enclosures snakes are not like us warm blooded it takes alot of energy and heat to digest a meal espically if its a large one .

All of mine eat once a week. They all defecate once every four to six. This is what I was told to expect when I got my first ball and this is what I have observed. The only exception to this is one female that eats very irregularly and tends to go about three to four weeks after a meal. They all pass fully digested dark, solid waste that smells like waste. I have never had a digestion related problem with any of my snakes and they never look bloated. Interesting.
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"yeah, eagles have feathers hanging off of them too and I don't smoke --- out of them!" PS it was a dream catcher!

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
[1.0 '05 Orange Hypo (Specter)]
[0.1 '05 Het Orange Hypo (Sylvia)]
[0.1 '03 Normal (Sue)]
0.2 American Pit Bull Terriers (40lb darling lap dogs:Brandy&Mara)

Thanks so much. I am only worried because she has ingested substrate before, and it just occurred to me last night that she could possibly be impacted...like I said I don't keep records regularly, but I have noticed that sometimes she seems to defecate all at once sometimes, meaning that at times there seems to be a lot more than just one digested meal coming out. So maybe this is just her normal thing. After I posted last night I did soak her for about 10 minutes and handled her a bit thinking it might stimulate something. I noticed her cloaca opened and now I'm thinking she might actually be a HE, but I couldn't really tell. Anyway she was moving around quite a bit last night and I will check today to see if she's gone, and hopefully all will be well. But thank you for the advice, I'll try that out tonight.
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0.1 ball python (Kilimanjaro)
1.0 amel corn snake (Houdini)
0.0.1 leopard gecko (Charlie)
1.1 cats (Kitty & Milo)
0.1 mouse (Creepers)

in my opinion there is no reason to wait for defication prior to feeding.. And, i have also never read in any publication that this is so for balls or any type of snake.

It sounds to me like you have subtrate issue.. it may be best for you to switch out to somthing that cannot be ingested ASAP..

There are other choices that may not look as nice as wood chip bedding but is much safer... I have always used newspaper.. its cheap, easy to clean and has rarely if ever been ingested.

~ Mike Russo