Reptile & Amphibian Forums

sorry for posting again I just want to know I'm doing as much right as I should be doing so thanks for dealing with me! So last night Draco ate a good sized mousie (an adult mouse) and he did a good job (so proud of him) and I've looked at him periodically throughout the day, haven't taken him out cause I didn't want to put him under any stress while digesting and the lump as moved down and gotten smaller throughout the day. I went out for dinner and when I came back he had pooed. Two separate bits both about the length of a joint on my finger one was mostly white no big lumps or anything squirming just white and dark brown and the other was just dark brown. I cleaned them out of the cage cleaned his water bowl replaced his water and inspected the poop to make sure no worms or anything were in it , not runny pretty solid like I would expect poo to be. It smelled musky but not alarming to me. I wanted to know is it ok for him to poo so shortly after having his meal? It it the right color and consistency? If someone could show me a picture of "normal" poo (if there is such a thing?) should it have an odor at all ( I assume it would because it's poo and the white stuff is urate right?) ? And any thing I should really look out for? Sorry for posting so often I just want to know and do what's best for him so thank you!

Don't be alarmed, but it sounds like your snake just had --- a normal poop! It did not originate from the mouse it had just eaten, but rather it was the result of a prior meal (the digestive process typically takes a few days). Of course it should have an odor (it's poop, after all) from the action of the bacteria in the snakes intestinal flora. Snake poop tends to be liquidy and funky looking (compared to dog poop, for instance) with dark parts and light parts (the urates). As long as there is no blood, nor wriggling worms, nor especially foul odor coming from the feces, chances are good that your snake has just taken a healthy crap. And that's the straight poop (sorry -- just couldn't help myself).
Wow, I haven't talked this much about poop since my kids were infants!

Lol. I had thought as much, but I just want to make sure I'm doing everything I can and doing it right(truly I feel a little silly like an over protective mother) I know a lot about all kinds of animals big and small from various jobs ive held (a ranch or two) and my growing up with numerous pets, but snakes are new to me! He pooed a few times (2) since the initial poop and I've checked each one for worms and any signs of unusual signs it all looks like normal poo! I feel so silly but I am quite attached to him already he's quite a sweety. So yeah ^.^ thank you I am Sure most of my questions will seem completty absurd and I apologize for such silliness. Hehe ^.^

I want to thank you. I don't feel so bad now, asking my newbie questions. I will continue, you do the same. I'm learning a lot.

Thank you kingdome I feel so silly with so many people knowing everything and I know some must read my silly question and just laugh at the absurdity of it all. ( I'll admit my rommies and I were laughing at me for posting an essay of poo questions! Though I have to give them credit for dealing with me and all my silliness bringing home adopted snakes and getting a hamster in the same month!) but poo is important! It gives you the opportunity to examine what's going on! Not just with animals but yourself too! Ok I sound crazy...

Not silly at all. I ask a poop question not to long ago. I found out, it's like any other trade. A book is not going to give you all the answers. For beginners like us it's easier an quicker to ask the more experienced people the question that we would normally figure out over time and through experience. or something like that. oh well, poop is important.

DAVY

but poo is important! It gives you the opportunity to examine what's going on! Not just with animals but yourself too! Ok I sound crazy...
This reminds me of a thing I read when I was a kid (a few years after WW2) about a Catholic nun/nurse who studied the feces of the girls in the girls' boarding school she worked at. She kept careful records and correlated the girls' overall health with the condition of their feces. Tragically all this information was lost when the Nazis destroyed the school.
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Bob/Chris
Pyromaniac AKA Greatballzofire

Hey you may want to PM Jeff Scholfield for some good poop pics. He has posted them here before. I always like to rub the excretion between my fingers and feel for any gritty feeling. If the poop is silky smooth then all is well.

Just messing with you bro. Look it's good that you ask questions, even if they may seem silly. You may get some funny even smart ass, answers but someone will usually try to answer your question truthfully. We were all where you are at some time. Well, almost all of us, lol. There is one all knowing one who actually hatched out of an egg, but he only shows up rarely these days. Jeff really does have poop pics though.
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King Snakes! Who can make a better mouse trap?
J Sierra

sorry for posting again I just want to know I'm doing as much right as I should be doing so thanks for dealing with me!

No need to be sorry. The fact that you're coming here to learn about how to better care for your new snake is a good thing.

and he did a good job (so proud of him)

If he ate it head first he did better than some of mine. My favorites are the ones that try to swallow from the middle then come the ones who swallow butt first.

Sorry for posting so often I just want to know and do what's best for him so thank you!

Again no apologies needed. Post as often as you want it's a free forum. Ask questions, post pics, someday you may be the one helping the newb. Read, ask, learn.

The others pretty much covered your poop question.
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BigT
There is a difference between ignorance and stupidity. The ignorant can be taught, stupidity is beyond our control.
1.2 P. m. melanoleucus B/W N. J. Northern Pines
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Lol thank you tattoo ^.^ I appreciate it from everyone!
Seriously though telling me to rub it between my fingers almost worked x.x I'm so gullible v.v; thank you all for answering though! And your patience and good humor of course ^.^