I don’t know where this would go on the Forums but I have something that I never seen before in my bananas stool.
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You should probably take it to the vet as soon as possible.
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This is all new and I’ve had him over 6 months. He’s been eating and growing like a weed. But today I was going to clean out his cage and I found poop like this but with “bug” looking things crawling in his poop, he’s still acting fine and not lethargic at all. Any idea what it is?
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Is it a bioactive enclosure and it might be springtails on the waste?
If you aren’t bioactive and didn’t add cleaning crews to the enclosure, I would be concerned about mites. They might not harm the snake if they are eating fecal matter, but if you didn’t add or anticipate mites it could mean there are other critters in there
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No it’s not a bio active set up, I’ve always checked for mites, I log when I clean enclosures and I check everyday or every other for poop or urate and change bedding once a month, he’s just on a coconut bedding until I get my shipment of reptichip. But I’ve never seen this before. So you’re saying those could be mites
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If they were mites, they’d be something like a wood mite and not snake mites. Bedding is a natural substance, after all, and sometimes it comes with hitchhikers. That said, the photo is super blurry and out of focus, I don’t think anyone is going to be able to tell you anything useful based on it. Wood mites are small and whitish/tan, they commonly infest natural substrates, especially when damp. It could also be natural springtails that established themselves.
My rule on poop is one weird poop is not an issue. If the problem persists and it’s obviously in the feces itself immediately after it leaves the snake, then I’d say it’s time for a vet visit & fecal test.
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The bug to me looks like a maggot. I’ve been seeing a lot of little drain flies and fruit flies in my area this year and they are frustrating. They colonize and hatch out so fast.
As far as the stool goes. I would definitely try and get a sample tested just in case. They can get pick up parasite or bacterial infections from feeders occasionally.
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Yesss! I think you are correct. That’s the only thing I cant get rid of around here and I just looked it up I think you are spot on. But then I guess my next question would be are the harmful to the snake? Any suggested bedding cause now I’m starting to rethink the reptichip.
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If you need treatment for flies: fly traps made of a cup/jar of apple cider vinegar with a drop of dish soap covered in plastic wrap with a small hole work a treat. Not sure if their larvae are harmful to snakes.
If you need to get rid of wood mites/springtails: baking the bedding can get rid of that issue, but they’re basically harmless. I have a wood mite issue myself and aside making my allergies a bit worse, it has never caused any problems for my animals themselves. Springtails, on the other hand, are often used in bioactive enclosures as a clean-up crew and are great to have around.
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This is what I do for fruit flies in my houseplants; if you want something that is more hardy and less likely to spill, there are a ton of teeny tiny little cups shaped like apples and other silly things on Amazon for this purpose. You add apple cider vinegar and soap into them, and the holes on top are designed to let flies in but not out.
I bought 2 that were designed to be “one use” (so you buy more packets of their “special” fly juice), but I just refill them with ACV and they work great
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Thank you so much for all your help! Really it means the world I can’t sleep if I feel I have an issue. This really cleared a lot up for me that I’ve never seen before. I’m not new to ball pythons but I’ve never had this issues of magget looking things. But I’m going to put him on paper and get a clean look at the next stool just incase it’s something more.
You guys all are AWESOME!
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Glad we could give you some peace of mind! Hopefully the next one is all clear and you don’t have any more problems. It’s always nerve-wracking when something you’ve never seen before pops up, we’ve all been there, for sure.
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Hello @jsmiffballs and welcome to the community! I don’t have to tell you how great this family is because you have already experienced it firsthand! So glad you found us but not so much for the reason! That poop looks pretty gross 
! Lol!
I actually would take a poop sample to your vet as @armiyana suggested just to be on the safe side. I’m sure it’s probably nothing as everybody says but it’s always best to err on the side of caution…….
And btw, we all love pictures! Best wishes to you @jsmiffballs and be sure to post an update! 
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I absolutely will, he’s actually one of my first one getting back into ball pythons, and yeah I quarantined him away from my others animals, and I’m hoping for another poop soon so I can send it into my vet just to be safe. Thank you all for the kind welcome and advice. Here he is his name is Zeus
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What a handsome fellow he is!
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Aw man @jsmiffballs! He is a looker! And he certainly looks very healthy so hopefully the weird poop is just a fluke! 
I have a banana as well! Thank you so much for sharing and most definitely let us know what the vet results are!
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I hope it’s just a fluke too!
Just revisiting after a day in the soCal heat… Maybe if the temps have been a little warm for you, double check how the habitat temps do in the heat. Maybe digestion just sped up and gave some messy poops. Especially if it’s a smaller prey item like young mice and rats without as much fully developed bone.
If the temps are getting a bit too warm maybe try a refreezeable ice pack to cool it down a bit in the worst heat.
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@noodlehaus @caron Thank you both! He’s a very good calm snake, and loves to eat and he is a good looking boy. @armiyana I hope it is just a fluke and just a bad poop and like I said before he wasn’t acting down and out he was just looking for food last night so it wasn’t till earlier today I found it cleaning the enclosure. I wish I could send this video I have of them to someone, they are like moving and so magget like it’s still so weird to see. I have a clear video of what’s going on just for some reason won’t let me post it on here.
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To get the video to work post it to YouTube then copy the url and paste it here. It is annoying I know.
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