Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Before I get harrassed, I have already made a vet Appt. for tomorrow. I have an '05 Hog that has a really wet feces. The white part looks normal, but the other part is kind of greenish brown and real runny. All of his cages and temps and water are fine. Does this sound normal to anybody? Also, he eats just fine, but he will only eat rat pinkies. Thanks, Derek

It doesn't sound "normal" but doesn't sound that bad either. Take a fresh sample to the vet and see what they say. Can I assume this is a captive born animal?
Ian

Yes, he's captive born. When I got him last fall, he just looked a little thin to me, but he looks good now. He eats just fine. I just dropped the sample at the vet, and I will hear from them on Monday. Thanks, Derek

I am glad you are taking a sample to the vet, it is always a good idea to make sure it isn't parasites, even with captive born animals.
With that being said, it has been my personal experience that feeding pinky rats can sometimes cause this. They simple don't have enough "fiber". It is like feeding them cream puffs, they will grow and get fat, but my personal opinion is that they don't have the calcuim an other vitamins that a mouse of the same weight might have(their bones and other organs are not as developed yet). For several years I fed my babies rat pinks because I was told babies grow better eating rats instead of mice. They did grow well, but I had problems with a lot of them having runny stools. Since we have switched to mice I have not had anymore problems with runny stools and I have not noticed any difference in rate of growth either.
Also, if you are purchasing a frozen mouse of the same weight (usually a hopper) they are cheaper by a few cents each, than rat pinks. If you only have one snake this might not make a difference but when you feed as many as we do it can add up. I feed my babies hopper mice, and continue to feed appropriately sized mice, until the snake is big enough for a weaned rat.
Hope this helps and that things come back from the vet fine.

Good luck,
Kathy

I feed 19 snakes. It will only eat live pinky rats so far, but I do give him a mouse sometimes too, but not eating them yet. I'll eventually switch him to f/t mice. Thanks, Derek

I always feed my boas rats, if they will eat them over mice. Occasionally I have a baby that will only take mice.
Now, the babies that eat rat pinks have runny stools, but as soon as they are eating rat fuzzies, the stool is fine. The pinkys don't have any hair, and hair holds the stool together.

A vet check doesn't hurt, but I don't think you have reason for concern. I obviously can't provide too much input without witnessing the problem.