Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hi gentlemen and ladies,

Since you are all caught up in the discussion about inbreeding, I thought I break it up with a little poop.

Anyway, I posted this on the Rat snake forum and got a few responses but I would like to run it by all of you for your opinions since I value a lot of your opinions.

The picture you see is actually from a normal corn snake. I have had this guy for about 2 years now and his fecal matter has always seemed to look like this or yellowish/greenish slimey looking. I never gave it much thought because another corn I have has done this on rare occasions when she has an empty belly. But now that this guy is eating adults I have noticed it more because it is larger and it really, and I mean REALLY smells. It smells almost like it is rotten. I can deal with my Indigo's feces a whole lot easier than this. Just to compare the 2, I would say the stench from this corn is atleast 10 times that of the odor of my Indigo.

I notice it most after he has pooped out the normal looking stuff. He will poop some normal black looking crap and some hair after that. This picture was taken 8 days after he ate. I have held off on feeding him right now and tonight he pooped some more of this out, that makes it 14 days after feeding. I am going to feed him tonight. I normally feed him once every week. His temps seem just fine for a corn, 80-85 degrees and he normally hangs out on the cool side rather than the warm side. He has only ever refused food once, and that was 8/17/04 and was one of the first times I really noticed the smell. At that point he wasn't eating adults yet and it was 2 weeks from his last feed because he was blue during the week I would have fed him. Like I said, this seems to happen when he has an empty belly. Also, a lot of his feces seems to have a pussy look to it.

Any help would be appreciated. Thanks

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Gregory S. Hake

oh god that is naaaaasty...thanks for ruining my spaghetti and meatballs..

Hey, don't mention it. You think the look of it is nasty, I can mail you a sample to get a whif of it.
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Gregory S. Hake

There are those here that are FAR more qualified to answer than I. I'm sure they will chime in.

My first question would be: Are you certain of the sex of this animal? Could it be that this is not a passing of a feeding that we're observing?

Second: What are you feeding? As your temps seem to be within an acceptable range it's unlikely that this would be a regurge or a partial digestion passing. But if it were either, it should be able to be recognized as "snake food". This "fecal matter" is not readily ID'd by me.

Regards,
Jeff Nichols

It was sold as a male but I never investigated the matter. I am sure it is not a clutch of eggs though, I have had this snake for about 2 years now and he isn't even big enough to think about breeding.

I am feeding him small adult mice. His temps are around 80-85 degrees on the warm side and 75-80 on the cool. At times there may not be much of temp difference due to where I have hime in my house. The temps only get cooler in the evening hours and I know they don't get below 70 degrees. There may be an evening here and there where the temps may get down to 65. He is in my finished basement where the wood stove is. He is on the other side of the basement so he doesn't get too hot but yet he doesn't lack heat at all. Sometimes I will turn off all of his heat (light & undertank heater) because the room gets warm enough during the day.

Thanks for any help,
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Gregory S. Hake

>>Hi gentlemen and ladies,
>>
>>Since you are all caught up in the discussion about inbreeding, I thought I break it up with a little poop.
>>
>>Anyway, I posted this on the Rat snake forum and got a few responses but I would like to run it by all of you for your opinions since I value a lot of your opinions.
>>
>>The picture you see is actually from a normal corn snake. I have had this guy for about 2 years now and his fecal matter has always seemed to look like this or yellowish/greenish slimey looking. I never gave it much thought because another corn I have has done this on rare occasions when she has an empty belly. But now that this guy is eating adults I have noticed it more because it is larger and it really, and I mean REALLY smells. It smells almost like it is rotten. I can deal with my Indigo's feces a whole lot easier than this. Just to compare the 2, I would say the stench from this corn is atleast 10 times that of the odor of my Indigo.
>>
>>I notice it most after he has pooped out the normal looking stuff. He will poop some normal black looking crap and some hair after that. This picture was taken 8 days after he ate. I have held off on feeding him right now and tonight he pooped some more of this out, that makes it 14 days after feeding. I am going to feed him tonight. I normally feed him once every week. His temps seem just fine for a corn, 80-85 degrees and he normally hangs out on the cool side rather than the warm side. He has only ever refused food once, and that was 8/17/04 and was one of the first times I really noticed the smell. At that point he wasn't eating adults yet and it was 2 weeks from his last feed because he was blue during the week I would have fed him. Like I said, this seems to happen when he has an empty belly. Also, a lot of his feces seems to have a pussy look to it.
>>
>>Any help would be appreciated. Thanks
>>
>>-----
>>Gregory S. Hake

I'd have your snake tested for worms or any other intestinal parasite. Get a fecal done, that should tell you what you're dealing with-and keep him away from your other snakes!

-cat
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Lower Ground Reptiles

www.lowergroundreptiles.net

Honestly, as a corn snake owner for many years - I'd lower the temps. My room is never more than 70-72 degrees except in summer here in Minnesota. I just use an UTH. My corns are thriving and have very stable [bleep]s.
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Matt from Minnesota
Cornsnake, Eastern Kingsnake, IL Bullsnake - all girls.
One Pair of cute Crested Geckos.