Reptile & Amphibian Forums

In the last seven weeks, my BP (male, approx 43", medium/light build) has eaten 14 mice and has not defecated. From what I understand, he hadn't eaten for at least 8 weeks until I got him, so I would have assumed he'd be good and empty.

I've given him a couple of warm soaks, to no avail. I've palpated his vent area and I don't believe I detect any fecaliths.

At what point would you start to become concerned?

a second question- what is the ideal temp for soaks?

thanks, Paul

I would not worry at this point. How big were the mice? If full adults, then he should be ready soon. But I would not say in critical need. He's probably just catching up on his nutritional needs.

Warm to you may be hot to him. Luke warm is what I use.
-----
Jay A. Martin
Jay Martin Reptiles

Thanks for your reply!

The mice ranged from medium to full size, and three was the most I've given him in one sitting (every 7-10 days or so). He always looked like he was interested in more, and it only produced a subtle lump.

So, at what point would you start to be concerned?

It's hard to say. Personally, I think you may be underfeeding. I would feed a 3 1/2' BP a med rat once every 7 days. I have some BPs that have gone over 3 months between defication cycles. Give your guy a couple of small-medium rats over the next couple of weeks and you should see some activity. I would be concerned when the last third of your snake looks like it's going to pop and stays that way for more than 10-15 days.
-----
Jay A. Martin
Jay Martin Reptiles

It's something I am working on, however.

The good news today is that he 'relieved' himself today! I was relieved, too, as this is the first time he'd done it under my watch. And, it was the last function (eating, shedding, urinating) I needed to observe to get a sense of his health.

Do you really think he's underfed? I've been told he wasn't too thin, and he's been getting noticibly heavier since I've gotten him to eat.

Thanks for your input, much appreciated!

>>Do you really think he's underfed? I've been told he wasn't too thin, and he's been getting noticibly heavier since I've gotten him to eat.

Hard to say without actually seeing him, but I'm glad he's relieved himself.
-----
Jay A. Martin
Jay Martin Reptiles

I placed a quarter in there for scale.

When I got him from the shelter on 6/24 he was 1.8lbs/26.9oz and 43" I don't own a scale, unfortunately, but he is noticeably bulkier.

How does he look to your eye?

>>I placed a quarter in there for scale.
>>
>>
>>
>>When I got him from the shelter on 6/24 he was 1.8lbs/26.9oz and 43" I don't own a scale, unfortunately, but he is noticeably bulkier.
>>
>>How does he look to your eye?
-----
Jay A. Martin
Jay Martin Reptiles

Not knowing his full history - you may just have a snake that metabolizes slowly or doesn't care to eat a bunch - neither is really a bad thing - if he is a mouser then he's not going to "bulk up" as much as a rat eater but will remain lean and mean! He does look like he's at a healthy weight from the picture.
-----
Tosha

"Nihil facimus sed id bene facimus"

7.33.0 Ball Python (Harry and Fluffy and gang)
1.0.0 Angolan Python (Anakin Skywalker)
0.0.1 Green Tree Python (Verdi - yeah I know but my kids love the book)
0.2.0 Feline (Pippen and Pandora)
0.0.1 Desert Tortoise (Pope John Paul aka JP )
2.2.1 Fish (1,2,3,4)
0.0.2 frogs rescued from pool skimmer

np