red tailed boa poo

[Chalkie]

Hi we are new to snake ownership and got a red tailed boa approximately 2.5 feet in length, she is in a vivarium 3 foot by 2 foot and went to the vets in our first week of ownership and was told she was in good condition.
We have now had her 5 weeks and so far she has not poo'd, although she has eaten 4 rat pups and her temperature is around 90 at the hot end and 75 at the cold.
Her substrate is orchid bark which we water and we regularly spray the tank to keep humidity at around 60%,
She has branches, a hide and 2 water bowls.
No books or web sites seem to cover poo so if anybody has any advice and information please let us know as we are really concerned and want to do our best to be good parents.
Thanks Chalkie

[hbwright]

One thing I see is that the temp in the cool side should come up. Try to get it to 80. Hot end is good. Sometimes it is as simple as moving over a light but may require adding more heat on the hot side and adjusting it to get it to 80 on the cool end. Humidity is good.

You can try soaking her for short periods of time and see if that will help her poo. Has she shed yet for you? It took about a month before my girl went when we first got her and she ended up waiting until her shed and then finally had a good poo. 5 weeks isn't terribly bad and they react very much to stress which being in new surroundings can cause. Try the bath and see if that helps. Water should be only about an inch, not to much to cover her body completely and make it slightly cool, I guess luke cool would be what you call it. If it is warm to you or room temperature it may be too hot for her.

[Chalkie]

So far she has still not shed so maybe we should wait for that, we have tried to bathe her but she seems scared of the water and tries to get out.
Thanks again for the advice and we will keep on trying with our fingers crossed, we will post a reply when it eventually does come out.
Any more advice will be appreciated

[Ciddian]

My corn will usually wait for her shed to finish and then does her poo thing :) Usually on her thermostat to boot lol ~_~!

You could try giving your snake a spray in the tank or outside in another tank just to avoid getting your substrate wet.

I think if your really worried take your snake to the vet... :)

[XOTPETS]

boas dont crap like corns i have some that dont go for over a mot and a half with no problams at all but when they do you will know it is like a dog got in and went lol in my case it is a st benared lol

[Ciddian]

Wow!!! I am happy corns dont crap like boas then lol! ^^

[Bluzmn59]

Yeah, my redtail will go a long time without defecating - often a month or more. She has a wonderful habit, though, of going in her water dish when she does finally let loose. Talk about convenient!

If you know the following, just disregard it, but since you are new to this: As for the shed, once she gets settled in, a redtail will shed approximately once per month until adulthood. The first thing you will notice is that her eyes will cloud over. Don't handle her at this point as she is blind and it can be very stressful to them. You can move her for cleaning, etc., but should probably not handle her extensively. Her body will become dull shortly thereafter. After a couple of days, you will notice that the eyes clear back up and the body returns to almost normal color - you will think that nothing is happening. A couple of days later, she will shed. The whole process will take about a week. During this time, it is a good idea to mist her lightly once or twice a day with a spray bottle. Put hot water in the bottle and it will cool when it is sprayed.

[Chalkie]

Thanks for all your advice, we have booked her into the vets on Friday - Just in case!!

Thanks for the advice about shedding too.