Reptile & Amphibian Forums

My cal/king, 5 month old, about 15 inches long, has been eating a pinky once a week. This last time I feed him two pinkies. He is a good eater so far. His fecal has yet to be solid. Its sort of runny looking, dry when I find it, looks like its been smeared on the aspen bedding. Any thoughts, comments? Should I be concerned?

Thanks
DAVY

Sounds like regualr snake poop to me. Some of them can really smear it around too. The dark part is the poop, the yellowish/white part are the urates.
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BigT
There is a difference between ignorance and stupidity. The ignorant can be taught, stupidity is beyond our control.
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I am more of a poop smeller than a poop looker. I know what normal poop smells like, and when it doesn't smell right then I get a bit worried. If the poop smells rancid, or just foul in an anusual way then start being concerned. Especially if you see thick mucus with little round balls, or squirmy little worms. I hope no one just finnished eating?
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King Snakes! Who can make a better mouse trap?
J Sierra

Hi,

The element that gives snake poop its..well...shape is the hair from the rodent. Pinkies are almost completely void of hair, so that's what causes pinky feeder's poop to be loose, or at least not rock solid. The same scenario happens with chick feeders. There is not much fiber in chicks either, so you get the same effect, loose nasty stools.

Will

Yep, I had a bunch of hairless rat pups come my way last year. I fed my eastern kings with them for a couple of weeks until I got tired of them "finger painting" their enclosures with the runny dark and nasty poo that came out of the other end. Back to normal mice with hair and their art careers came to an end.

This thing about hairless rat pups is good to know! My pet hairless rats Tanya and Psycho Paul are going to be having their first litter any day now. These are my pets, so I planned on having their offspring just be pets, too. Now knowing how they would be processed if they were to become snake food confirms my intent to keep them just as pets, not feeders.
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Bob/Chris
Pyromaniac AKA Greatballzofire