I found blood?

[teague]

My BP shed today with a nice size poo. I was looking at her and noticed some blood around her rectal area. I have no idea what to think. Was her poo too big? Some internal problem? Please help!

[BP_okay]

Was there blood in the poo too..or even some mucus like stuff? Is she listless?You might want to save it to take it too the vet. I know this is gross, but put it in a baggy and in the fridge. It will keep it from drying out, and the vet can do a test on it. Amebiasis is a possibility which is when a parasite is ingested through contaminated food/water. What kind of mouse did you feed her? Live, F/T, etc? This could be overkill, but I am a worry wort. The good thing is, is that if this is the case, it can be treated with anitbiotics.


Good luck and hopefully more knowledgeable folks will be able to help.

Traci

[teague]

Thanks Traci. I already threw the poo away before I noticed the blood, but I did look at it (always do) and it looked normal. She is not listless at all. She is her same old self. That rat was alive when I got it. Dead when she ate it. Trying to get my balls on f/t so I've started off with f/k. She is feeding on a f/t right now. (so proud) Anyways, at least her appetite is still there.

The word "parasite" freaks me out, hopefully I will get some more feedback, and again I thank you for yours.

[BP_okay]

You are welcome...like I said I am a worry wort, and I hope I didn't alarm you. The good news is there's no blood or mucus in the poo! Whew! Congrats on the coversion to the F/t - something i will never be able to accomplish with my sand boa.

[teague]

Well Traci looks like you were the only person to give me any feedback. I'm a bit disappointed that not one other person on this entire forum had any insight as to what was going on with my little girls bleeding. So thank you, and only you.

[Will0W783]

I didn't want to say anything when I wasn't sure what it was. Have you found any more poo? After doing some research, it seems it might be possible she tore her skin a bit shedding, if she shed recently before the poop. Otherwise she might have scratched herself or just had a particularly hard poop. I would watch carefully and see if the trend of anal bleeding continues. If it does, get her to a vet, but hopefully it wont' happen again.

[pyythonboa]

same thing happened to my bp and it was right after a shed.sometimes they expose there rectal area when pickedup or alarmed.saying that if its exposed it can get cut.just keep an eye on her,if it happens again get to a vet,but my bp was fine yours should b to.

[Will0W783]

They're usually planning to musk you or actually doing it when they expose the rectal area- basically they're everting their musk glands so they can squirt it on you...blech. My milksnake used to do that to me all the time.

[teague]

Thank you all so much. Every time I think I have a grip on understanding my snakes and there well being, something like this happens and throws me for a loop.

Uhmmmm...why do they want to squirt us?

[BP_okay]

Teague - I am so glad some more folks hopped on this thread! Whew. They musk as a defense. Basically, to be blunt they are saying "You are really annoying me and now I am going to fart on you!" I have never had this happen thankfully, but it's really smelly from what I understand. Apparently scarlet milk snakes are notorious for musking.

[Will0W783]

Yes it smells awful. It's like a combination of really concentrated cat pee and fart. It's nasty and it's oily and hard to get off your skin. Thankfully Medusa has calmed down and doesnt' do that to me anymore. I think almost all milksnakes are notorious for it. Medusa is a Pueblan and she freaks out about everything. My male hypo honduran is pretty calm though.

[teague]

The first time I held my first snake (last year) It peed and dropped a "popcorn" on me. It was so gross. Never been 'musked' though.

[Will0W783]

Lol. I got peed and pooped and musked on all the time by my Medusa until she calmed down. I don't hold her often though, as she just does not like it and I don't want to stress her out. It is pretty gross to get peed and pooped on though..lol.

[BP_okay]

Yeah..not to continue an unpleasant subject, but since we're on this topic; my sand boa did a weird bird dropping white gunk thing on me once. When I find his urate it's rock hard, but he had just had a hydration shot from the vet a few days earlier, so I never figured it out. It turned dry and chalky, so I was just plain confused. Thank goodness it's never happened again...and Kimberly, I would love to have a milksnake, but the musking does make me shy away from them.

[Will0W783]

The urate is wet and bird-dropping looking when they first expel it. The poop part is also moist. It dries very quickly due to the heat of the cage. Milksnakes are not always muskers- my male has never done it.

[teague]

yep. Popcorn.

[teague]

Ok one last thing. Can/do all snakes musk? Or just certain species?

[Will0W783]

I think all snakes can...I know some are more prone to it than others, but all female snakes as far as I know have musk glands below their clocas, and I imagine males have musk glands too. I may be wrong, but I think all can...

[BP_okay]

That good to know... I just thought it was weird pee b/c of the shot. Glad I always find it in rock form...much more pleasant :) Btw, how does your male handle, is he pretty calm? Here we go....could be adding another one to the 3rd snake list.

[Will0W783]

My male is great. He's an active snake- he doesn't just sit in my hands like a BP, but he doesn't struggle or musk or anything. He is really fun actually. Here is a picture of him. He is a super hypo honduran, but he is basically amelanistic. He has no black, but he is much more colorful and brighter than any other albino I've seen.

[BP_okay]

He is super handsome Kimberly. Do you have any plans to breed him someday? I have always been partial to banded and striped snakes. So in your opinion, a male milk snake would be less likely to musk than a female. Also, your guy will get to 4-5 ft??? Will his girth be the same as a corn?

[Chu'Wuti]

Can/do all snakes musk? Or just certain species?

Some species are far more prone to it than others. I won't say some species can't musk, but I've never known any BPs to do it.

[Will0W783]

I wouldn't say a male is less prone than a female- it's really an individual thing. I've seen male milks that were bitey and musky and nuts, and I've seen calm, very tame females. It really depends on the snake's history and its individual temperament- which is why, if personality is more important to you than colors for breeding, you should handle a snake before deciding to purchase, or if you do buy online, ask the breeder for a description of the animal's temperament. I got Spitfire, the one in the picture in my earlier post, from Scott Crowe Reptiles. I absolutely love him, and I do plan to breed him. I have a female Pueblan I might try him with, or I might pick up an albino female at some point. I need to move to a bigger house or convince my fiance to let me take over the other spare bedroom before I begin breeding plans in earnest, as I need a separate room to cycle breeding pairs in so everyone doesn't have to endure that stress.

[BP_okay]

Sandy,

Yet another reason to seriously consider a BP!

Kimberly,
Those sound like great breeding plans to me! Wow, what beauties that combo would make. I will keep that breeder in mind. It's always nice to know which ones are the good ones out there. Yeah, I think the show I am visiting will be an an awesome learning experience for me. Sandy told me about one in March in Arlington, TX which is very close to me, so maybe Vegas won't happen. I'll save money to apply toward the snake!

As far the extra bedroom. If you're not planning on having a baby soon, I would just tell him, "Hey, since we're not planning on adding a kiddo anytime soon, what's the prob Bob?" ;-) Also, if you have the land, have you ever thought about adding one of these temp bldgs. behind your house?

Traci

[Will0W783]

We have a townhouse- with basically a tiny square of backyard, and the other spare bedroom has to house our computers and desk and it has a fish tank and chameleons in it already..lol. So unfortunately an auxiliary building is not possible right now. Hopefully the next house.....

[BP_okay]

Wow! I am extremely jealous! Snakes, chameleons, and fish. You guys definitely are busting at the seams! I don't if I ever read how many snakes you actually have. Didn't you say around 20 at one point? I think you've some since them ;-)