Reptile & Amphibian Forums

My burm seems to be getting really bloated lately after feeding...I usually let him soak in some warm water and that usually lets him release his pee and calcium poops to settle the bloating down but he hasnt taken his big poops (sorry gotta laugh hehe) in a while and im kinda worried. The last snake i had that started to bloat like this didnt end up to well..so i must admit im getting kinda scared. Any reasons as to why this is happening or how to solve it?

Oh by the way...the bloating occurs a few days after feeding just to clear that up. No i didnt think the rat bulge was the bloating haha.

How old is he/she? How big? I have an 11 month old 6 footer and I have noticed some bloating recently. He has not had any big poops in about a month and a half.
-----
1.0 Ball Python
1.0 Burmese Python

Mine is about nine or ten months old and is around 4 feet (a rather small snake but pretty healhty.

Yesterday I was watching my big burmese who was sitting pretty still, soaking in his pool, when all of the sudden his calm little soak turned into a jacuzzi session that lasted over a minute. I'm not talking a slow release either... at the risk of sounding a little immature, he machine-gunned it steadily with such force you not only heard all the bubbles popping on the surface, you could here it exiting the cloaca pretty loud under a good 8 inches of water. Although he blows bubbles a lot, that's the first time I've seen or heard them come out that end. (He often inhales real big, then sticks his head under water and blows it all out for some reason too) It's weird though, it's only one of my burms that likes to do it.

My retic gets real bloated at the base of his tail sometimes, but that typically only happens right before he's ready to defecate, I just assume that on a more slender body snake you're more likely to see the waste materials as they get close to release. A quick warm soak, or some handling usually loosens that up real quick.

yuck!!!! i wouldnt want to pull that burm out of the water!!!!

Yea, I just gave my guy a soak this afternoon and he took care of buisness.

Handling may not always be the best way to lossen up stool because when my guy is nearing that time any touching of that region is rewarded with a hiss, tail slap or a strike. Probably just his personality but I would be cautious. Good luck.
-----
1.0 Ball Python
1.0 Burmese Python

Actually my burm has been doing the same. he gets really pissy and has started to strike when placed on the floor. I never associated it with that but that does shed some light on the situation. He has also been flattening out the back part of him at the base of the tail. I still do not know the purpose of that unless he is trying to make himself look bigger. But hopfully he gives a big poop soon so he doesnt act so mad. He pooped out the white part but no river logs yet haha.

I've had the same problem. I'll soak him and handle his back few feet during the soak. I'll squeeze him just a little and he'll move around and slide through. I believe him moving his muscles will help loosen the brownies! If that still doesn't work, I've taken about 5 CC's of mineral oil and injected it into a P/K rat, then fed him the rat. The oil mixes with what's inside and makes it an easier exit. I got this idea from a burm book, they call it rat lax. The only problem is finding someone OTHER THAN a heroin addict to supply the needle.

DZ