Reptile & Amphibian Forums

At least it was unusual to me, as I've never seen anything like it before.

Last weekend I purchased a nice white lipped python at a reptile show. She appeared healthy and was *extremely* tame. Soon after I got her home she relaxed into her new enclosure and ate readily. The odd thing happened last night when she was...well, for lack of a better term, projectile pooping. There was a loud noise coming from her cage and when I looked she was opening her mouth widely, as if to draw in large breaths of air and then releasing the air out her vent in the form of loud...farts. She was also squirting out very loose stools with considerable force. It only lasted a few seconds then she immediately returned to her resting spot and curled up as if nothing had happened.

Granted, I'm still relatively new to the hobby; I've only owned snakes for a few years, and am now up to nine individuals. But I have never seen such behavior in any of my other snakes, nor have I read anything even close to this in any books or online information sites.

Any info, advice or words of wisdom would be greatly appreciated.

~Lisa

Hi Lisa,

no panic, it's not unusual for wlp's to do that.

I've seen this in some of my wlps and I guess it happens when prey quite large and the digesting system doesn't work with 100%. This could be the case if stressed or climate conditions are not optimal (temperature and/or humidity to low). The prey is in the digesting process and there is a gas developement. The snake wants to get rid of the gas and opens every exit available (some humans do so, too ). Did your wlp have a drink afterwards?

Perhaps you could tell a little more about the conditions you keep your wlp in (temp., humid., cage size, water bowl etc.)

So congrats on your wlp anyway and stay tuned for more surprising behavior of this species...

Cheers,
Wulf
Leiopython

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http://www.leiopython.de ,
http://www.herpers-digest.com

Wow, thank you, Wulf for the info! I'm glad that this isn't anything serious.

As for the temp./humidity, I've got her in a 20 long right now with the warm side approximately 90 degrees and the cool side about 75-80. I try and keep the humidity between 75 and 80 percent. She's got a large water dish that takes up almost a third of the floor space in the cage. I like to give all my snakes plenty of room to soak. Although I haven't observed her doing this yet.

And she didn't take a drink after her gasious episode.
I had fed her a rat fuzzie the day before even though the breeder said she was on pups. I figured I'd start her on something a wee bit smaller to ease up on the stress from the previous weekend.

I'll feed her another fuzzie tonight and moniter her behavior closely. Is there anything I can do if she continues this behavior?

~Lisa, who's really enjoying her little irridecent girl.

Hi Lisa,

well, this woun't happen to often. If it does anyway you should let her be checked by a vet (parasites...).
The housing and the climate conditions sound good. There should be no problems with this.
I love these little wlps. They look so cute and adorable and I could play with them all day long...

Enjoy,
Wulf

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http://www.leiopython.de ,
http://www.herpers-digest.com

Hi Lisa –

I’ve seen the behavior you describe in ball pythons a few times. If I recall correctly, it was usually after the first meal taken after a normal fast of several months. In your case, with a new acquisition, it’s always good protocol to get a fecal done.

May your white lip be as gentle as an angel.

-Joan

Good advice, thank you, Joan.

And yes, she's a sweetie and fairly calm, too. My Red-Tail is more high strung than she is...go figure.

~Lisa

I dont think white lips deserve all the crap. I got one and shes tame as hell, and I've held at least 5 other ones and they didnt bite. They hiss a lot, but they didnt bite me. Even if they bite big deal. They look pretty enough to compensate from any bite. Scrubs are way more sensitive to touch and are real flighty, yet enjoy more popularity than these guys. I dont know why, I like scrubs as well dont get me wrong. But this snake is really underrated (as with olives, timors, papuans, bredl). White lips are weird, because mine doesnt go to the bathroom in one go; it leaves a little and I do a spot clean. The next day it leaves a little more, and it keeps me busy I guess. It doesnt go everyday, but my other snakes just go all at once. They seem to have pretty good vision compared to carpets and balls. They also have really thin skin. Why, I dont know. I figured god would give them thicker skin like Bloods, for more protection. It feels neat when handling though. Really sensitive pythons. It could be a legend from a far away place, but I heard they can puke up hairballs. Thats pretty cool!

Hi,

good spoken!

I love these guys, too and some folks on this forum often claim that I am talking of wlps as of puppy dogs Well, not really!
All I want people to know is that they really do not deserve the bad reputation they have and that these pythons are one of the most beautiful and interesting ones.
They seem to get pretty common though and that's ok.

That's all for now...

Cheers,
Wulf
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http://www.leiopython.de ,
http://www.herpers-digest.com