I've been meaning to ask this for a long time -- What does off color BLUE/GREEN urates indicate? For some reason I'm thinking its a Gall Bladder issue/condition. Mostly seen it in Colubrids, but sometimes Boas. Is it an infection or what? Usually goes away with improved husbandry practices. None of my snakes have off-colored urates at this time, I've just always been curious about it.
jsc
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Urates color question
jscrick
Aug 16, 2008 10:11 AM
Replies (3)
maizeysdad
Aug 16, 2008 10:32 AM
I have one boa that deposits urates infrequently, and they are greeninsh. I have attributed this to natural flora having the extended time to colonize. The snake is healthy and robust. My other boas, that all urinate more frequently, have chalk white urates.
madisonrecords
Aug 16, 2008 10:47 AM
In my experiances of the past, it has either been gallbladder or a serious bacterial load, that has caused it " usually in the late stages of a respiratory " and especially after being treated with a trial of antibiotics.
Could share more privately, but I dare not do it on here.
John J
Slithering_Serpents
Aug 16, 2008 02:33 PM
It's bile if it's green. It's normal. Every now and then you will see it. I'd only worry if you see it all the time. It's made in the liver and stored in the gall bladder, and to see it sometimes is normal in boas. It's a normal part of digestion.
If you're really interested in the coloring of bile (bilin) read this:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bilin_(biochemistry)
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