Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Greetings,
I have a young (slightly less than a year) corn snake that occasionaly has difficulty deficating & when that happens the yellow/white part that comes out first is made up of hard pieces that are not round. I use an IR thermometer & the maximum temperature that I have recorded on the snake is 83.5. I inject it's food f/t med/large pinkies with spring water, but I also cut the pinky with a hobby knife so some of the water leaks out along with some blood. I have tried not cutting the pinkie & injecting water with the same results. If the snake doesn't deficate by about 7 days I soak it in a large tub of 84F water that is in my bath tub with 90 degree water. It almost immediately starts muscle contractions in front of the vent & then it either passes just the hard urine, or dumps out a full load. If just the hard urine is passes I soak the snake again in a couple of days & in a few minutes it finishes up defication. The snake has been on spring water since it was a couple of weeks old, but I had several little ones & really didn't pay that much attention to any one snake. My other two corns (adults) show nothing of these symptoms. The snake sheds always in one piece & is growing fairly fast. Back in the late '70s I had a Boa that became impacted & required a trip to a herp vet, but they have all moved/retired. If anyone has any ideas PLEASE HELP!
Many Thanks,
Tom Allen
rocketcity@msn.com

>>Greetings,
>> I have a young (slightly less than a year) corn snake that occasionaly has difficulty deficating & when that happens the yellow/white part that comes out first is made up of hard pieces that are not round. I use an IR thermometer & the maximum temperature that I have recorded on the snake is 83.5. I inject it's food f/t med/large pinkies with spring water, but I also cut the pinky with a hobby knife so some of the water leaks out along with some blood. I have tried not cutting the pinkie & injecting water with the same results. If the snake doesn't deficate by about 7 days I soak it in a large tub of 84F water that is in my bath tub with 90 degree water. It almost immediately starts muscle contractions in front of the vent & then it either passes just the hard urine, or dumps out a full load. If just the hard urine is passes I soak the snake again in a couple of days & in a few minutes it finishes up defication. The snake has been on spring water since it was a couple of weeks old, but I had several little ones & really didn't pay that much attention to any one snake. My other two corns (adults) show nothing of these symptoms. The snake sheds always in one piece & is growing fairly fast. Back in the late '70s I had a Boa that became impacted & required a trip to a herp vet, but they have all moved/retired. If anyone has any ideas PLEASE HELP!

not really sure about the reasons for the problems but I was curious as to why you inject it's food with spring water.
I don't quite understand the need to inject water in it's food. Are you provoding a water bowl in it's enclosure?
Are you feeding frozen/thawed? If so then they are wet when thawed...
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Corn snakes and rat snakes..No one can have just one.
"Resistance is futile"
Jimmy Johnson
(Draybar)
Draybars Snakes

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I've heard of injecting water as a means to get extra fluid into the snake.

I'm not quite sure what you perceive as the problem...is it that the urates are not round? Is it the frequency of defecation? Is the snake struggling to defecate?

None of my corns have round urates like a boa. They are sort of crumbly and rocky looking, but my boids have nice rounded urates (for the most part).

Usually my younger snakes pass stool within days after a meal. Are you worried about an impaction? Mineral oil will be much more effective than water...but if he's already defecating, I wouldn't suspect an impaction.

There's a lot of experienced corn snake keepers/breeders on this forum, hopefully someone can help you out.

Not sure what the problem you are having.

First off, it is normal for snake 'urine' to be hard and chalky. Nearly all reptiles pass urine as urates...and these are not always round balls either, some are elongated, little soft, etc. and is often stained by the fecal matter (hence being brownish, yellowish etc).

There is no need at all to inject whole prey with water, unless you are using freeze dried rodents (if there even is such a thing). Frozen and thawed rodents have just as much water content if not more, than freshly killed. (or even live).

Corn snakes should have access to fresh water all the time, thus if they are thirsty they can drink as needed. Also it is good practice to have the water dish big enough for your snake to soak in, so if they are feeling a little dehydrated they can soak freely.

As for your temperatures...they seem fine...if you feel the hot spot is too cold (should be around 85-95F surface temp) increase the temperature of the undertank heater. Keep in mind you only want about a third of the cage at this temperature, with hides in both it and the cool end for your snake to thermo-regulate itself as needed.
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PHLdyPayne