Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Back in November my female burm hadn't urated or defacated for a few months. I soaked her and eventually got about 7 hard urates to come out, I followed up with a vet visit which resulted in an enema and quite a bit of poo at the office.
Another month went by with nothing so I went to the vet again with the same results, enema, hard urates and poo.
Now its been a month again with no urates since. The vet gave me the enema device and told me how to do it. Has anyone had this problem before or what are possible causes.
The vet says she appears quite healthy, she eats fine and my husbandry is good IMO. She is 8 months old.
Any help would be appreciated.

I have never had that problem, but I would keep trying the water for a little bit, leave her in there longer. Nice warm water, not hot, just right. The food your feeding her does it leave a lump in her, or no lump. I know every week when I replace the water my burm drinks it and pees all over, but only really poops once every three weeks, and I fed her every three days. Just wondering if maybe the food is not enough for her to poop as ofter. Anyone else??

We can speculate, but it would be helpful if you would tell us the following:

How long have you had this 8 month old snake?
How much does it weigh?
How often do you feed it?
What do you feed it?
How much do these prey items weigh?
How often does your snake pass LIQUID waste even though retaining the solids?
How many times has your snake shed?
What is your cage set up and dimensions? Screen top aquarium, plastic container, wooden box?
What are the temperatures in the room? In the cage?
Any idea about the range of humidity in your cage?

If I were to just make a guess on the urate problem, I would say that the humidity is too low and/or the snake is poorly hydrated. Infrequent defecation and urate build up are quite common with blood pythons in captivity, but I’ve got to say that I never had a similar problem with any Burmese python I’ve ever kept. Maybe others here have had different experiences. Do you keep the water bowl filled with FRESH water?

Once the urates start building up and blocking the cloaca, then you’ve got a constipation problem, too. But I would be leery about relying on enemas as a solution for what is probably a husbandry problem.

-Joan

I've had this snake since receiving it from Bob Clark from a newborn. She eats 1 large (rodentpro) rat every 7 days. Living in Syracuse NY where the winters are harsh to say the least my house heat is going constantly so the humidity isn't the greatest 45-50% even though I mist and what not. Temps are 85-90 on warm side and around 78-80 om the cool. She has a UTH which is on all the time and a overhead heat lamp on a timer. Currently in a glass cage with screen top, the top is 70% covered with a wet towel. A new cage will be coming soon. Her water bowl is cleaned and refilled at least every 3 days, but not big enough to soak in. She shows no signs of dehydration.

How much does the snake weigh?
Does your snake pass liquid waste on a regular basis?
How often does it shed?
Does it shed in one or many pieces?

You don't need to answer a bunch of silly and pointless questions about your husbandry. I'm sure it's probably just fine. If the vet couldn't tell you what was likely causing this then it's not very likely that someone can give you a viable or accurate diagnosis over the internet based on a typed account of the frequency of the liquid urine or the completeness of a shed.

I seriously doubt if it has anything to do with the humidity as I have seen this condition before developing in well hydrated reptiles kept in extremely high humidity. It could just be the anatomy of that particular snake and perhaps a flaw in her waste anatomy. Perhaps this flaw causes her to form overly large solid urates that cause blockage. Or perhaps she has a much smaller cloaca than a normal burmese. In any case just do what you need to do to remedy this. But try switching her to small rabbits )1-2 lbs) and see if this ailment doesn't go away. Give her a tub large enough to soak in. She probably won't use it much, but at least it will be there if she should want to soak. I personally think that she will likely outgrow whatever is causing this.

>>I've had this snake since receiving it from Bob Clark from a newborn. She eats 1 large (rodentpro) rat every 7 days. Living in Syracuse NY where the winters are harsh to say the least my house heat is going constantly so the humidity isn't the greatest 45-50% even though I mist and what not. Temps are 85-90 on warm side and around 78-80 om the cool. She has a UTH which is on all the time and a overhead heat lamp on a timer. Currently in a glass cage with screen top, the top is 70% covered with a wet towel. A new cage will be coming soon. Her water bowl is cleaned and refilled at least every 3 days, but not big enough to soak in. She shows no signs of dehydration.
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