Haha, just went to clean my cage out, and was holding him, next min he is pooping and weeing in my hands 
, did i stress him out or did he just have to go?
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My snake nearly pooped on me!
Harker
Dec 26, 2003 08:45 AM
Replies (4)
mickmarkus
Dec 26, 2003 10:19 AM
My snakes have both done this to me in the past. Not pleasant. My understanding is that it is a fight/flight response. I also believe that it is more common in younger snakes and tends to extinguish with handling, like the occasional snapper. Both of my corns have now past the yearling stage and have fully outgrown this behavior.
Amanda E
Dec 26, 2003 12:43 PM
As far as I'm concerned, my snake has only gone when he had to, not because he was trying to get away from me.
The reason I say this is the times he has gone, they have been times where you could obviously see a bulge at his vent and he was relatively calm before he let loose. When I know they are due to defecate and then they stop moving through my hands I get worried, because to me when they stop moving this usually means they are going to poop soon.
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alstiver@hotmail.com
Current snakes:
1.0 '01 Hypo snow cornsnake (Tesla Coil)
0.1 '02 Ghost (pastel) cornsnake (Banshee)
1.1 '02 Bloodred cornsnakes (Desi and Luci Too)
To be added in Spring:
0.1 '98 Het Hypo, Het Caramel cornsnake
1.0 '00 Hypo Het Caramel cornsnake
mickmarkus
Dec 26, 2003 01:28 PM
I learned about the startle "poop" response from various care sheets and a little research after having my ghost poop on my wife... Twice... LOL 
The term that I've seen used for this behavior is "venting of the cloaca" or "voiding"... As previously mentioned, regular handling should extinguish the behavior in all but the most high-strung of corns.
-Mick
Amanda E
Dec 26, 2003 06:05 PM
I agree that some snakes will defecate when scared, usually right when you pick them up. I have had this happen to me a few times, mostly by wild snakes.
However, with my snake, this is not the case. My snake just needed to go at that given time. The extra exercise it got while roaming my hands also helped things get moving.
Basically my point is that Harker may have just been holding a snake that needed to go. It may not have been frightened.
-----
alstiver@hotmail.com
Current snakes:
1.0 '01 Hypo snow cornsnake (Tesla Coil)
0.1 '02 Ghost (pastel) cornsnake (Banshee)
1.1 '02 Bloodred cornsnakes (Desi and Luci Too)
To be added in Spring:
0.1 '98 Het Hypo, Het Caramel cornsnake
1.0 '00 Hypo Het Caramel cornsnake
