Reptile & Amphibian Forums

ok........ sounds a little strange even to me..... I just gotta know.... have any of you experienced a ball with constipation?

I've lost two unrelated possible het piebalds to it several years apart. My vet was not able to save the first and did a necropsy and said it looked similar to a genetic problem called megacolon in cats. I've read that megacolon is also associated with a type of piebald in mice and horses. But in my case I don't know if my possible hets where even het and I've not heard any other report of constipation in heterozygous or even homozygous piebald ball pythons although I've asked several times.

Thanks for the response Randy..... That's pretty interesting to know. I'll have to read up on that.

I guess I'm just curious as to know what causes constipation in balls? Diet, humidity, h2o, genetics,temps, husbandry or even a combination? Seems like there's got to be a valid reason for it.

TIA
Beth

If you think your snakes are constipated try soaking them in warm water. It usually cleans them right out.
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Thanks and Take Care
Thomas Jones
sweetpetsshop2@yahoo.com

Just recently there was a thread about the types of things people jot down like their feedings and poops.....

I keep a record of each snakes feedings and breedings but hadn't been keeping up in the poop department....up until I read that thread...

so..... I was thinking that if I did have one that was constipated it would be good to know what everyone does in that case...... I've read that most just let them soak in warm water and that tends to work in most cases.... what about the ones it doesn't work for?

I used to breed and raise freshwater Discus fish and when they were constipated (Blue Diamonds were good for that) I used epsom salts in the aquarium water and that worked pretty quick and almost everytime.....I've also used it in the past 48 hours before shipping fish..... to clean them out.... (less poop in the bags upon arrival)

So I'm wondering now if that would be a safe alternative before a vet trip....

Well in my experience , constipation with Balls ,it is not that common but can be caused by dehydration , inconsistent feeding schedule , genetic malformation . The most common is infrequent feeding ,for a example feeding one week then waiting 2-3 weeks then feeding and then waiting 2-4 weeks and exst.exst. Not saying that this will cause constipation in every case but can in some . David

constipated. It looked like they were gravid. Brian Potter actually squezed a golf ball size urate out of each of them and then a FLOOD of poop colored fluid followed after. Both of them looked like they just laid eggs afterwards. One has been fine since. I think the other one is plugged up again.

Urates are consecrated calcium and other minerals and vitamins that are excess and unused so if they are getting a large blockage like you describe ,try using distilled water for a wile and see if that helps . You can also add a diluted pottiaco tea (not shore of the spelling) to there water and it will help with there urinary tracked heath . You can get it at a heath store , it can also can be used as a soak for scale rot and stuck sheds as well as to rehydrate . There is one other cause of constipation I forgot to add on the post above and that is that some snakes wave a problem with the digestion of fur or hair .Hope this helps . David