Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I have two red tail boa constrictors that live in the same cage, one male and one female, and both seem to have problems deficating. The larger female has not had a bowel movement in about two months, and the smaller male has been deficating but only the white solid and urin are excreted. Do I have to worry about the male not excreting any solids that are brown in coloration. He has had about 5-7 bowel movements without the brown solid fecies.
I am in school to be an x-ray tech and two fridays ago I was fortunate enought to be able to x-ray both snakes. It was really cool because both snakes had just eaten and you could see the rats inside their stomachs. But in the bowel of the female you could also see three distinct "bowel movements" or "piles of crap" so I know she needs to go but she has not gone. I have soked her in a warm tup of water about four times in the last two weeks and she doesn't leave her hide box/humidity box and still has not gone? Any advice is appriciated, thanks.

If you can get the female crawling around on a lawn, (in good weather, away from the public or pestecides and fully supervised of course) the extra exercise often does it for king and gopher snakes.
Worst that'll happen, she'll just enjoy some time outside and you'll need to try a vet next. Best that will happen, the problem will be "relieved". Sorry... Had to pun...
-----
0.1 chickens (Condor)
0.2 dog mutts (half ownership, only mine when they misbehave, Lucy & Amy)
0.1 Halflinger horse (Crissy)
0.1 Normal phase California Kingsnake (Sophia)
1.1 parents
Still searching for 1.0 WC human

Thanks for the reply. Right now it is still pretty cold where I am at so it will be a while before I can get her outside. I do get her out and hold her a few times a week so she has a chance to move around a bit, do you think that is enough?

Both snakes are eating fine, correct?

Excersise is crucial for many snakes exhibiting constipation. I would recommend daily handling (at least until the problem is corrected). Continue with the warm soaks, but consider using the bathtub. This promotes swimming which is more excersise and is fantastic for promoting proper gut motility. Do this every day after handling, or at least every second day.
You may consider injecting prey items with mineral oil to help it pass. Anything further needs to be done under veterinary supervision.

Finally, but perhaps most important is reassessing your husbandry. Snakes just don't get constipated when doing well. Possible culprits are temps that are too low, improper humidity (we often loose sight that these are rainforest dwellers), and improper caging. Obviously a cage that is to small will reduce activity and the occasion to stretch out. Other problems may include a lack of a large water bath/bowl, climbing branches/shelves, and competition for a single hide spot with the other boa.

Of course there are other non-husbandry problems that will cause constipation but these are less common and are pointless to dive into great detail here.

Thanks for your advice Joey, you seem like a very knowledgable person. I have read many of the past posts and you are one of the people that responds on a regular basis. I will continue to give my boas a soak at least everyother day like you said and will try the mineral oil if nothing changes in a week or so. Do you think I have anything to worry about with my male boa not deficating the brown part of his fecies in his last 7 bowel movements?

How was his X-ray? If not impacted like the female and he is eating well then I would not worry too much. The white part is urine however and not part of the stool.

As for why I am able to reply so much, well, I work over night at an emergency vet clinic and it is quite slow during the winter months. Things start to pickup this time of year though, and just go crazy during the summer. I'll still try to post regularly, but won't be able to as often.

ps, I bet your fellow classmates thought is was just way cool to have X-rays on your snakes!

Yeah they all loved the fact that I was able to x-ray my two red tails. They all wanted to hold them but the only one I got out was my female, which happens to be the biggest, because I have the most faith in her to be complacent. I never let anyone hold her with out my very close supervision and even then I never let them hold her without my hands on her. I really don't believe that she would ever bite anyone but she has never been around a class full of people that are all staring at her. She did seem to be a bit more nervous so I was really carefull how close I let her get to my classmates. Thanks again for everyones input.

As far as his x-ray there was not any formed fecal matter that you could make out on his. I guess he is just saving some of his crap for later, lol.

WOW, yesterday she took a dump bigger than I do!!!! She didn't hold anything back! It is good that she went because if she waited much longer she would have exploded!!!