I swear he never poops!

[incuash]

I have never found poop anywhere in my snakes viv the five months I've had him. Giving him a bath works like a charm, but since he never poops on his own, and doesn't seem to mind... i mean he has eaten every time i've ever fed him (once a week), has shed several times, and has shown no abnormal behavior... should I just keep giving him baths? And if so, how often should he naturally poop? I'm worried this will make him form a habit of not pooping on his own, but I'm worried he'll get sick! I dunno what to do!

[Susan]

My snakes all seem to poop shorlty after eating up to several days after eating. Hoe often, and when (in relation to feeding) do you give your snake a bath? Try not giving him a bath and see if he'll poop. It may just be coincidence if you bathe your snake weekly.

[incuash]

He's had two baths, but i didn't really time the baths according to when he had fed or would feed. I just was worried, so I'm pretty much positive it wasn't a coincidence. So he's definitley not had a bath for over a month and not pooped on his own. I use aspen bedding, and changed the viv, so its not like i just missed it either. :/

[Sparda]

Is this a very young, small snake that you are talking about? If this is indeed a baby snake, then you may not see the poop in the aspen shavings. Something that was told to me when I bought my first snake, and had the same basic question was "little snake, little poop". When they are very young, (say, a 2004 hatch) then when they do eliminate, especially in the aspen bedding, you don't always see it. If you sift through the bedding, kind of like when you clean a litter box for a cat, you may find some clumps, because aspen seems to stick to the poo in clumps.

[Susan]

Good point Sparda! Baby snake poop would be hard to find in aspen. I use newspaper so that idea didn't cross my mind.

[incuash]

I dunno, I frequently dig around, and I've never found anything. Judging by the bath poops, I'd see them. But maybe he pooped so much in the bath because he hadn't pooped in a while (?) Its worth another shot though. I'll keep digging around

[jjspirko]

I know aspen looks better and I use it too. However, try putting him on paper for a few weeks they if he craps you will know for sure. Once you are sure you can go back to aspen. When he gets bigger now worries you will know every time,

[zarozinia]

My hatchlings usually poop once or twice, 3 - 5 days after feeding, I feed them every 4 days. I use paper towel, its easy to spot the poo and at least you know you thouroughly cleaned it each time aswell. I would give it a try and Im sure you will spot some in there soon.

[incuash]

Will he be very alarmed by the paper towel instead of his bedding? Lately he is always burrowed underneath the shavings, and I don't want to stress him out any more than absolutley necessary.

[CAV]

Not at all. Most of us with larger collections use paper for hatchlings. They will burrow under the towel just like any other substrate.

[zarozinia]

Ive recently changed some of my older snakes from beech chips to paper towel as i thought it would generally be more hygienic and they have been fine, although I wish I could get large sized paper towels, I will be using newspaper for my adults instead. That way I know that all the poop is removed every time.

[incuash]

Thanks for all the help, I'll try out the paper towl and see if maybe I've just missed it.