I recently got a 3 - 4 month old ball python hatchling 3 weeks ago, he missed his first two meals but on last Wednesday he ate a rat fuzzy for me. However, he since hasn’t pooped as of 01/05/24, and also refused his meal today. How long do snakes this age go without passing stool? I’ve been told every 5 - 7 days is the average for a young beep.
He defensively struck at the rat (F/T) but won’t wrap it or even seem interested in eating. Iv boosted my mat temp to 35c (95f). Cool side is 25c (77f).
If you noticed any signs of them going into shed they may be waiting until then. Also as a heads up, if you have seen them go ‘blue’ I wouldn’t recommend feeding them.
If they refused food today, a coming shed could be why. Missing one meal isn’t a big deal. Hopefully this is the reason they have.
Hey thank you so much for the reply. I haven’t noticed him going into shed at all recently but I could just have missed it since he is a pastave pied (high white). I have reason to believe he isn’t in shed though as he is plenty active at night.
Hello, welcome to the community! As far as your temps, the warm side is too hot for your little guy. If you have under tank heating and your probe is placed between the heater and enclosure, the thermostat should be set probably no higher than 90 (then use a temp gun to check the temp inside the enclosure right where the heater is placed to make sure that surface temp is around 86-88°F and adjust thermostat temperatureso that the enclosure bare surface temp reads between 86-88).
As far as pooping, it’s not totally uncommon for a snake to go longer than 2 weeks without a bowel movement. You could always do a soak every few days for a few minutes with 85° water to try to encourage pooping.
We love photos so please feel free to share any of your snake if you want. And definitely feel free to ask more questions and/or search our forum for answers to anything else you need or want to know.
Have to agree with @gina5678 on the temp. 95 is way to hot. I would follow what she posted for temps. A soak wont hurt and could help if there is a problem. But 2 weeks is not unheard of. And it could be so small you could over look it. Especially if it digested it almost fully.
Hi, thank you so much for the advice. I’m feeling really conflicted as everyone I’ve spoken to for advice suggested I boosted his temps up to 95F. I’ve since adjusted it and the inside of the tub above the mat is reading 88-90 throughout various places.
As for the pooping, he ate the week before I purchased him. I am unaware if he had a bowel movement later that week or not. But the entire three weeks he has been with me he hasn’t done anything.
This is not my first snake, nor my first Ball Python. I have an adult rescue who’s roughly anywhere from late teens to twenties. However, this is my first hatchling Ball python and it just doesn’t seem to be as simple and set in stone as other species I’ve cared for.
I agree 95 it too hot. Don’t feel conflicted, the posters above know what they are talking about. Trust their advice.
If the snake does not pass for a bit, you might try a swim in the bath, that usually works.
I’ve followed all the advice. I have also given him a warm soak in Reptoboost, still hasn’t passed anything yet.
Hey all, just want to say thank you so much for all the advice given. After a nice soak and a bit of a swim he passed everything without any struggle. Everything looked normal and good as far as poop is concerned lol!
Glad to see it worked, you can relax now 
That’s great to hear!
@vickyc1 Just to be clear, heroic measures like soaking shouldn’t be necessary on the regular. Snake physiology is way different than mammalian physiology. They’re not going to poop as often as humans. Heck, they don’t feed as often as humans. I would say don’t soak again. Just let it feed, poop, pee, shed, all those snakey things and you’ll get a feel for how often things naturally occur.