Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I placed my male cali king into hibernation for the first time. he went 3weeks without a meal and i placed him in the tub so "swim" around to clear his system, but i looked in his enclosure today and he defecated ... is that normal? the color of the feces wasn't normal color either it looked kinda "mucusy" green the only thing that was normal was the white calcium looking part in the feces. should i take him out and soak him for another week or two?

What should i do?

~ZF

No, that is not normal. Your snake should not have had any food left in its GI track. "Swimming" will not make your snake digest and pass food any faster than sitting their in it's hide. The temperature of the enclosure and hot spot are important. Adjust his enclosure so the ambient temps of the air are about 76° and provide a hot spot of about 86° preferably by undertank heating. Do not feed your snake anymore, just observe it for a couple weeks. Then start your brumation.

Tom

Food that is still in the gut is not good when placing an animal down for brumation. However, feces in the intestines is not necessary a bad thing unless they are discolored or liquid. I've had many of my brumating snakes drop a little feces while down for the winter, even weeks later after a month of fasting before cooling them. If it's a big amount, that's not great, but small amounts tend to do little harm.
Best...
Jim

he hasn't had a meal in 3 weeks and it wasn't a big pile it was just a little drop it wasn't normal color though it look kinda like a darker version to mucus. but i was just concerned... he seem other wise healthy. thanx for the info
~ZF