pooping under substrate

I have fir bark as a substrate and my snakes crap seems to blend in with it. Is there any chance shes been crapping under the substrate? It seems like it would be impossible to find if she was, unless i sifted my hands through it till I felt yuck. Is it normal to have to dig through the substrate to find their poop?

It's actually pretty likely. I stopped using bark for that very reason and went back to the aspen.

wow that was fast, thanks

I agree, if your snake likes to dig you are likely to find poop under the substrate. I have one corn that digs and she has made it a habit to poop under the substrate almost exclusively.

A lot of times my snakes will poop under the aspen. I have a large plastic spoon I use to sift through it. It's easy to find this way and take care of.

my ruby likes to poop under substrate too, but she can never hide it from me ( i can smell it as soon as i open the glass door) yuk its wicked.
I put down kitchen towels this time and she moved that to poop as well.
My male does it in his water, so i have to keep an eye on him

In my tubs I have a layer of newspaper and beech chips over the top and often enough, they'll go under the paper to poop and then come back up...makes it easier for me, I just use some toilet paper to pick up the poop and the substrate stays clean!! Less cleaning...yaaaay!

I keep a box of gloves in my classroom for this very project! I'm still amazed that students want to help with this part...

hmm, i use aspen, and ever few months when i change it, i find 1 or 2 ****s on the glass, its a pain lol, it poops on me or the glass under the aspen.

I've gone to a bioactive substrate with my juveniles b/c they burrow and do their business under the susbstrate anyways. Once a week, post poo, I stir it in. The plants seem to like it, and there's no smell.