Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I jest got a new burm hatchling 2 weeks ago shes eaten 3 mice in thet time and she hasent defecated the end of her body is swollen and she tries not to bend her lower body when handled temps are 80 night 90 day 100 basking humidity at 50 after handling i put her in her water bowl that i fill with 75 degree water jest so she stays in with out me forcing her any ideas pleas let me know thanks

Here's some recommendations:

1) when in doubt, see a vet!
2) if your day temps are at a constant 90, that's too hot. You must provide a gradient where your low end temps are around 80 and the warm end at around 85-88 with a SMALL, LOCALIZED basking area that reaches 90-92 deg F. Night temps can run from 80 cool side to low 80's warm side. Your hot temps could prove fatal in the long run.
3) BOOST your humidity levels; they should be at the 60-75% mark. If this is a problem, construct a humidity box w/a plastic food storage container with a hole cut in the lid and the box filled with 2-3" of dampened spaghnum moss. Many snakes will actively seek these areas out to hide in. Daily mistings with lukewarm water will also help.
4) What type of bedding do you use? If the snake ingested some wood mulch or some other particulate-like matter, that could be lodged inside the snake....this is a medical emergency and could require surgery. I personally would recommend keeping this snake on newspaper.
5) Soaking in a shallow tub of lukewarm water (78 deg F.) for around 30 minutes could help quite a bit.
6) Hold off on feeding until you rectify this problem. Continuing to feed with an already clogged system will only make matters worse and could lead to septicemia.
7) There could be other problems causing this which is why I recommend seeing a vet and doing a full fecal and blood work up....yes, it costs money but that's your responsibility.

Bottom line is that if the snake is not acting right, get it to a vet right away. Delaying treatment/surgery will only result in a dead snake.

Rob Carmichael, Curator
The Wildlife Discovery Center
Lake Forest, IL

>>I jest got a new burm hatchling 2 weeks ago shes eaten 3 mice in thet time and she hasent defecated the end of her body is swollen and she tries not to bend her lower body when handled temps are 80 night 90 day 100 basking humidity at 50 after handling i put her in her water bowl that i fill with 75 degree water jest so she stays in with out me forcing her any ideas pleas let me know thanks
-----
Rob Carmichael, Curator
The Wildlife Discovery Center at Elawa Farm
Lake Forest, IL

First of all let me congratulate u on the purches of your burmn They make brilliant pets but they will take a lot off dedication.
I have 2 hatchlings and a 10ft albino goes by the name of sponge(bless her).

Now you say your snake hasent deficated in 2 weeks this is not unusual it may take your snake 3-4 weeks to deficate and as for the lump i suspect it may just be gas. i dont think it is any thing to worry about. If i was you i would keep feeding him/her as normal and if she hasent deficated within a four week period of eating i would phone your local specialist for more advise. Hope this advise has been of use to you and everything works out with your burm. if you have any Q's feel free to drop me a line chrisrigby8@hotmail.com its always good to hear from other burm fans.

when i went to get her out for her vet visit i saw she had gone i normally wouldent worry about a snake not defecating in 2 weeks but the swelling bothered me i know the temps are on the high side when my herps are young i usually have temps about 5 degrees hotter to help digestion as they get larger and feedings get less frequent i decrees temps i use newspaper dont trust wood chips never have her enclosure is 4L 2W 2H so her basking is a small are will definitly get humidity up thanks to all that replied