Reassure a newby - strange poop

[truman]

New snake mom here. We've had Truman since Christmas Eve. Bought him from a highly recommended local breeder as a Christmas present for our kids. Picked him because we loved his colors, he seemed mellow when we held him and he was a good eater per the breeder. It's gone very well, he eats a pinky on Mondays, poops under the aspen in the corners of his cage (I clean it while he is fed in a separate container), explores in the late evenings, and shed for the first time with us Jan 13th. I fed him on Monday and noticed he hasn't been out since then and he's usually active by 48 hours later. I peeked in his hide today and he is in the blue. When I was doing this I noticed that he had pooped on top of the bedding, which I had never seen before. It was larger than previous poops and it really looked different, like pinky skin. Enough to make me worry that he regurgitated instead of pooped. I'm sure this is nervous new snake owner, but would I be able to tell the difference? Anything to be worried about?

Thanks!

[AliCat37]

If it was a regurge, it would look more like a mouse than poop. Does it have any urates with it? Does it smell like something dead?

[truman]

I usually find his poop long after it dries up, so I'm not sure what fresh looks like. This was pretty cylindrical, it squished when I scooped it up with a paper towel and smelled unpleasant. It wasn't near enough to be the whole pinky, it was more like a strip of skin. The aspen right around it was drying but had been wet. I'd been gone for about 7 hours.

[kathylove]

Regurge has a sickly sweet odor something like human regurge - but worse. It doesn't smell anything like poop. If you could smell it, you would know if it was poop or regurge. I would go by smell if you couldn't tell by looking.

If it wasn't regurge, maybe he is not completely digesting his meal. I would give his system a rest and try something smaller, similar to the regurge protocol. Then check closely for results after the next feeding.

Be sure to check temps with a thermometer. If it was too cold or too hot, that could account for digestion problems. Try for mid 80s or so in the warmest spot, with normal room temps (low - mid 70s) in the rest of the cage. As your house gets warmer or cooler with the change of seasons, your cage may also vary, so it is important to recheck temps occasionally.

[Nanci]

The color can be a tip-off, too. Usually the first clue. Baby snake poo should be black and white and tiny- usually a little smear or tiny pile. If you see something pink or tan or flesh-color or brown, particularly if formed, pick it up and roll it between your fingers and smell it. It will either smell like snake poo (musky, reptile-y, not particularly unpleasant) or like a dead body- sweet, rotten, awful.

[truman]

This was definitely more tan than black and pretty formed. His temps have been good, about 84 around his warm hide and low 70's on the cool. We've been hit with all the polar vortex weather, it feels like -4 here right now, so I've been checking several times a day and keeping the house warmer than we usually would so his cool side doesn't drop too far. Could we have fed him too close to a shed? We will go through regurg protocol regardless. None of his other poops have looked like this, even dried up.

Thanks!

[TheFrogman]

Pictures? Sounds like regurge to me, I agree with you, just to be safe as you said, Id defiantly follow Regurge Protocol

[kc261]

I've had a handful of regurges in my years of keeping snakes, and every time I knew it due to the smell before I saw it. If it didn't have that smell, I doubt it was regurge. However, it does sound strange and perhaps even if it wasn't regurge, some not fully digested stuff passed through your snake. I've never seen this myself, and if that is the case, I'd be concerned what is causing it. Please double check your temps, as that affects their digestion. As Kathy Love suggested, following the regurge protocol will probably be helpful if it was something not fully digested that passed through as well as if it was a regurge, to help his digestive system get back to normal.

So I'd suggest going through the regurge protocol just to be sure, and keep a close eye on him to see if you see any thing else unusual.

The fact that he is staying in his hide is probably due to him being in blue, so that alone is not a concern.

[kathylove]

I have noticed over the years that snakes in shed are more likely to regurge than when not "blue", or ready to shed. If they are offered food at all during that time (many will not eat anyway), then be sure to offer smaller items than usual to avoid regurge.

[Nanci]

Baby snake regurge can be tricky. Sometimes it can desiccate before you smell it, and you have to REALLY investigate. I (this is going to sound weird) check my babies a few days after feeding by putting my nose right up to the front of their bins and sniffing. If there's a regurge, that will find it. It's like a way to check quickly without having to open and look at each one.

[truman]

This is after 24 hours in the trash can. It had a sickly sweet smell but I'm not sure if that is just this bag or everything in the can, there was a meat wrapper in there too. The temps seem fine unless the house is getting too cold at night. We are trying to keep the house at 68 (thermostat set at 70 but not always staying there), we are even running a space heater in the kitchen b/c of frozen pipes earlier this month. During the extreme cold his warm side was struggling to stay above 80 but that was over two weeks ago and he did fine during a feeding then. This didn't seem like a much larger pinky than normal, we buy frozen 3 packs and they were all very similar in size. The only difference I can find from his last couple of feedings is him coming into shed.

Thanks for all the replies!

[Nanci]

Regurge .

[kathylove]

If you want to feed a smaller pink than you have, just cut one in half while it is still partially frozen. Thaw and feed the front half for one feeding, and save the back half (in the freezer) for the next feeding. Be sure to contain the snake and pink in a deli or cottage cheese cup (or similar), without bedding, to avoid ingestion of bedding. And don't put the cup near the warm part of the cage or you could cook your snake.

[truman]

Thanks! Truman came to us in a little plastic cage (like you see hermit crabs in) so we feed him in that and then put him back in his viv.

I've been warming the frozen pinkies in hot water, what is the best way to thaw them out? He was eating live pinkies when we got him and we switched to frozen three feedings ago. Can you overwarm or under-thaw them? Our breeder's pet shop closed very suddenly and now we have no one local to go and ask questions.


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[The Cat]

Thanks! Truman came to us in a little plastic cage (like you see hermit crabs in) so we feed him in that and then put him back in his viv.

I've been warming the frozen pinkies in hot water, what is the best way to thaw them out? He was eating live pinkies when we got him and we switched to frozen three feedings ago. Can you overwarm or under-thaw them? Our breeder's pet shop closed very suddenly and now we have no one local to go and ask questions.


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I guess you could underthaw them, but I don't know about over heating. I can normally tell if it's warm enough by looking at it or feeling it. The mice seem to bloat slightly, and they get soft.

I use water, too. That's the only way I've heard of thawing them.

[Nanci]

I thaw mice in hot running water. For pinks, it just takes a couple minutes. They cannot be too hot. Or too cooked. Once mice get to the fuzzy stage, though, if you thaw _too_ long, they will get mushy and will tend to burst open. Just thaw till they are soft and pliable and hot all the way through.

If you hold a thawed adult mouse in your closed hand, you can feel if it is warm all the way through, as opposed to just the fur being hot.