Reptile & Amphibian Forums

So I found something sort of strange in my collection last week. In a drawer containing a breeding pair of anthill pythons I found several piles of BRIGHT green urates. They are seriously green...like the color of healthy leaves on a tree.

This is after a long winter of breeding. The male has not eaten in several months and the female is currently gravid. Both appear to be doing really well otherwise. All other pythons maintained in the same conditions are perfectly healthy.

I have just separated them for the season so I will be able to tell which one it is soon enough.

What is going on?

Here is the happy couple

Post some pictures of the green urates if you see more. I"ve seen green tinted, but am always curious when people say they are "green!".

To an extent, it's normal and related to a reptile's protein metoblism contributing to biliverdin (green) instead of bilirubin (yellow). If you see consistently, very green stool/urates then it might indicate a problem, but as for now, I'm inclined to say that this is just them "flushing everything out" after a winter's breeding efforts.

Ian

Biliverdin is the end product of heme catabolism. Biliverdinurea can indicate a hepatic disease or hemolytic anemia. However the urates may just be green from pigment diffusion from the feces.

Ryan