Reptile & Amphibian Forums

My hatchling kingsnake that hasn't eaten since I got her (a month) has green urates! I notice when I cleaned out the newspaper in her cage the other day. There were the white bits and then this bright green color - not too much brown feces but I suspect this is cause she hasn't been eating. Does anyone know what can cause this to be green? Is this a bad sign? I can take the sample to the vet, but there is so little of it and it is dried on the newspaper. I read through some old threads on this forum that said it could be due to anorexia or liver problems. Any advice????? Will this go away once she starts eating? I am about to start forcefeeding mouse tails to her.

This is kind of a tough one. Vets can't do much with dried stuff, either. What kind of kingsnake is it? Has it been losing weight?
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Peter: It's OK, I'll handle it. I read a book about something like this.
Brian: Are you sure it was a book? Are you sure it wasn't NOTHING?

It is a thayeri kingsnake and had eaten a total of 12 times for the breeder before I got her. As for losing weight - yes I think she is. The skin is a little looser on a couple different areas. It is hard to tell though because she is soooo tiny to begin with!

First, double check your set up and make sure everything is ok there. Second, check to see if there are any scenting methods you can use with this species, like lizard scenting or split-braining. Last, I would look into forcefeeding if the snake is losing weight. I've watched baby snakes starve themselves to death, it does happen. It should be a last resort as it stresses the snake out, but I believe it can also be a life-saver.
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Peter: It's OK, I'll handle it. I read a book about something like this.
Brian: Are you sure it was a book? Are you sure it wasn't NOTHING?

Thanks for the advice - I've tried braining and scenting with lizard. I've also tried getting her to open her mouth to eat a mousetail - but I couldn't get her to open. I have a vet appointment for her on Thursday. Will this stress her out too much? Am I better off in keeping trying to forcefeed the tails to her?

I'd definately keep the vet appointment- I was going to say I was just thinking that some sort of bug might be the issue.
I've personally found catheter feeding to be a lot easier than putting mouse bits down people's mouths, but I'm used to having someone help me with it- both are probably tough for one person. This would be a good thing to discuss with your vet.
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Peter: It's OK, I'll handle it. I read a book about something like this.
Brian: Are you sure it was a book? Are you sure it wasn't NOTHING?