Reptile & Amphibian Forums

2 of my baby bloods have trouble pooping....i have to massage their cloacal area everytime to induce their pooping...caused by hardening of the urine i think....coz after the hard stonelike ball comes out the urine follows..then the [bleep]... i've read that constipation can be caused by many things mainly dehydration...so i was wondering if i should put a seperate bowl for drinking other that a soaking bowl? do they drink frm where they soak?
or is this pooping problem common in baby bloods?

They will drink out of the same bowl they soak in. Bloods tend to build up large amounts of feces before they will deficate. It isn't usually necessary to assist them in pooping, it just takes them a little while to do it is all. Soaking them in some luke warm water does tend to help somewhat however.
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"It's my snake, I trained it, so I'm going to eat it!" - Mad Max, The Road Warrior

umm..'long periods b4 pooping' long being wat..? a week? more? but the stone hard piece of urine thingy...isn't that blocking the rectum? it isn't supposed to be that rite?

Mine usually goes about every 3-6 weeks... sometimes longer, especially if there is a shed in the near future.

OOOH no, bloods will hold up fecal matter for long periods of time. Sometimes going 3-4 months without a taking a dump. Bloods have a much slower metabolism than most snakes, which confuses some people. The urate lump is normal and often times it will pass seperate from the rest of the fecal. Just give your blood normal soaks about once every week or two and you should be just fine. Hope that helps.

Jordan
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"It's my snake, I trained it, so I'm going to eat it!" - Mad Max, The Road Warrior

no kiddin huh....thx for the info...i'm used to my snakes pooping 2-3 days after meal.
thx! i shall cease the force pooping from now on

Yeah, I'm in the exact opposite position. I've had a blood python for a year, and I just picked up a pair of milksnakes. They must go every 3 days, and I'm getting really sick of cleaning up after the little buggers!!!

Trust me, you'll quickly come to appreciate the slow metabolism of these awesome animals... among other things

This is coming from prior experience, so take it for what it is worth; But I kept a group that consisted of 13 animals ( yearlings - adults ), and I had the same problem untill I noticed something. I had one animal that would sit in his water bowl constantly. However, after the water was a day old, he would come out. Another thing I noticed is that they would all drink soon after I changed thier water ( I changed it every 2 or 3 days ). So I observed the trend and started changing thier water every 24 hours or so. In about 6 weeks all ( Yes, I said all ) would deficate within 5-10 days of feeding. These animals may be sit and wait hunters, but they seem to dehydrate rather quickly and will be prone to blocking up, or worse, building up urates. I had someone send me a young Female, around 2 or so feet in length. 3 days after receiving she tore her cloaca trying to pass a urate ball. That thing was literally the size of a golf ball. Unfortunately, most peoiple don't realize these animals need a constant fresh water supply, and will have problems if they aren't given the option.

I have noticed over the years that bloods drink more often in captivity than any other boid species I have worked with, even more than anacondas. I believe they have an inherently high rate of water loss and have difficulty staying hydrated in captivity due to the lower humidity compared to that which is found in their natural environment. Not to say that a slightly lower humidity(60 to 70%) is detrimental to them, because I don't believe it is, as long as fresh water is available at all times.

Kelly