Reptile & Amphibian Forums

For some reason my rat snake likes to use her water bowl as her bathroom. Any suggestions to get her to stop? I guess potty training is out of the question.

Thank you!!

Funny how snakes have their preferences. Some routinely poop the bowl, others poop their hide while some never do. I have to yearling Stillwater Hypo Bulls, one routinely craps its hide the other never does.

There are certainly some advantages to the water bowl crappers though...easy to clean.

Maybe a snake therapist could help?

Well, many different types of snakes do this, I have to clean fouled bowls out all the time, just last night as a matter of fact.

This is something that just comes with the territory of owning them. Most snakes don't do it while they are in it, they wait until they leave, or after they have gotten a drink. Then when their tale gets over the open void of the bowl, this often stimulates them to poop for some reason..LOL!

Having one or two snakes that do this now and then isn't nearly as bad as having a BUNCH that do it. Unfortunately I know this from lots of experience..LOL!

~Doug

~Doug
-----
"a snake in the grass is a GOOD thing"

>>For some reason my rat snake likes to use her water bowl as her bathroom. Any suggestions to get her to stop? I guess potty training is out of the question.
>>
>>Thank you!!

I have several snakes which always poop in the water, so I have two bowls for each snake. When they poop in the bowl, I have a clean one ready to use. It is better in some ways, than spot cleaning particulate substrate - it's cleaner anyway.
-----
-Toby Brock
Southwestern Center for Herpetological Research

Personally, I hold them by the scruff of the neck, tap them across the snout with a rolled newspaper, while shouting NO...NO...Bad Snake.....

Of course, this never seems to work?!?!?!?
-----
Regards, Bill McGighan

Thanks everyone for your advice and sense of humor. I do have an extra water bowl for her. My main concern is that she'll drink the water she just defecated in.

I have seen a few guys use gallon milk jugs (Toby and Terry) and that seems to be a great equalizer. The snakes use the water jugs to soak (and I assume defecate in) while I would say a much smaller water bowl opposite would be better for drinking.
-----
Todd Hughes

>>I have seen a few guys use gallon milk jugs (Toby and Terry) and that seems to be a great equalizer. The snakes use the water jugs to soak (and I assume defecate in) while I would say a much smaller water bowl opposite would be better for drinking.
>>-----
>>Todd Hughes

You're right, Todd. Terry uses two jugs per cage, so if the snake defecates in one, there is still one with clean water. I have done this also, but more often I just watch for poop in the bowls and jugs, and switch them out.

Good point about a larger (jug) and a smaller bowl - one for soaking, and defecation, and one for drinking. I might try that with some of my big water poopers - the beauty snakes love to poop in their water, and they do soak more often than any of my other snakes.

A little off-topic aside: I discovered, a few months ago, that once beauties reach about 5.5 - 6 ft in length, they are more than capable of flipping a 2/3 full one gallon jug. LOL So, I have now gone with bigger, heavier water containers for the adults. Also, the higher the humidity is, in the cage, the less they soak.
-----
-Toby Brock
Southwestern Center for Herpetological Research

it's a cleanliness thing....
we go in the water to flush it away....
animals do the same thing instinctively.....
but they unfortunately cannot flush...so ....clean the bowls...
or use liners....(deli-cups...)
......lots of critters use the waters..............

....
-----
.

...(______________________)

could be worse
"Poop in his hand!" "Poop in his hand!"

>>For some reason my rat snake likes to use her water bowl as her bathroom. Any suggestions to get her to stop? I guess potty training is out of the question.
>>
>>Thank you!!
-----
Corn snakes and rat snakes..No one can have just one.
"Resistance is futile"
Jimmy Johnson
(Draybar)
Draybars Snakes

_____

ROFLMAO! 50% of my herps do this all the time, the others sometimes!

Matthew

1/2 my snakes do this and to think about it, the ones that do are all rat snakes. Maybe thats interesting,(?).
It can be annoying as when its in the bowl and not in the aspen it tends to stink more.
One point to make is that if you have more than one snake in an enclosure this is the #1 way that parasites are transfered from one snake to another. The other would drink in the parisite eggs that were deposited through the fecal matter.
Just got to wash the bowl out thoroughly and remove any foot hold bacteria would thrive on.
Mike.

Mine are kept seperately. All of them do it, but my bairdi Rat & my Blood python are the two worst offenders!

Matthew

Well I looked her straight in the eyes and said "bad snake". Then I hit her on the nose with a newspaper. I think she got the message because she started waggling her tail If this doesn't work, she's going to have to go back to wearing diapers.

Thanks everyone for your advice/sense of humor.

Give the snake some good self-confidence with wearing some "Huggies", or "Under Roo's" as well, this can only help.

Like the TV jingle goes..... "I'm - a - big - "snake" - now!..LOL!
-----
"a snake in the grass is a GOOD thing"