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Ball Python 'Poop' Question

Erika N.

Erika N.

Waiting in anticipation!
I know this may sound strange and all but I am curious to know how long it normally takes for a Ball Python to digest and well, poop.


The whole story behind the question....

I just recently, within the last 3 weeks, rescued a Ball Python. 'She' is 2 years old and was originally bought at the local PetSmart. She is size of a hatchling, still. In saying that she is barely a foot long and hardly weighs anything. I don't have a scale yet to tell you exactly how much she weighs.

Before obtaining her I learned that she was only being fed a fuzzy mouse every other week though she never passed up a meal. She was severally dehydrated and did not have proper heating or even a hide. I moved her to a new tank with a heating pad, hides, and a large but shallow watering dish. As with any snake I left it alone for 4 days before taking her out to check her over again. Aside from the problems mentioned above nothing else was obviously wrong so I decided to feed her.

Rather then going straight to a rat pinkie, which is bigger then a fuzzy mouse, I gave her the next size up. A F/T Hopper mouse. Within seconds of her seeing it she had already struck and coiled around it. Here may be where the problem started. Instead of head first she swallowed it feet first. I let her be until the item was down to her mid section and then put her back into her viv. I waited another 3 days before checking on her and was happy to see that she hadn't regurgitated it.

Now though we are quickly approaching Sunday, which is feeding day, and I have yet to see any signs of feces. Is this normal? Should I wait to feed her again until I see it?

Thanks,
Erika
 
Sounds pretty standard for ball pythons.

I have around 20 or so. Some poop once per week, most poop every 3 weeks, a few poop once per month and 3 only poop when they shed.

In a nut shell- once or twice a month is average. You might see white balls (urates) in between stools. Sometimes these can actually look like eggs, lol!

Their metabolisms are MUCH different that corns.

It sounds like with the under feeding, and other issues, she is just working on processing the food. Trust me, when she does finally let loose, it will be a LOT!
 
BloodyBaroness said:
Sounds pretty standard for ball pythons.

I have around 20 or so. Some poop once per week, most poop every 3 weeks, a few poop once per month and 3 only poop when they shed.

In a nut shell- once or twice a month is average. You might see white balls (urates) in between stools. Sometimes these can actually look like eggs, lol!

Their metabolisms are MUCH different that corns.

It sounds like with the under feeding, and other issues, she is just working on processing the food. Trust me, when she does finally let loose, it will be a LOT!
Click to expand...


So it should be okay to feed her again this Sunday?

The last thing I want to do is make her worse when I'm trying to make her better.
 
Go ahead and feed her. Give her belly stuff to keep moving through.

Some people to say to soak or let them swim, but I don't see that as a good first step. Try to nature move it through.

Trust me, unless she seems bloated or painful, this 100% normal for a bp.

I've been dealing with BP digestive issues for ages. They do everything slowly, lol!
 
I don't know anything about ball pythons and will not pretend I do but holy cow one fuzzy mouse every other week, POOR BABY. I am so glad that she in your hands now.
 
Glad you rescued her and she has good eating habits!
When my ball does eat regularly (he's off feed now) he only goes about every month and a half. I was also freaked out since I'm used to the corns going once or twice a week, so I tracked his poo schedule for a bit until I realized that it was normal.
 
Yeah, bps are not like corns. Once a month to every 6 weeks is completely normal. And when it comes, it's usually a pile!! Especially for the larger one.s
 
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