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gaboon has not pooped in weeks
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by nerodiaJr on December 19, 2008
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My gaboon has not defecated in 13 weeks, I have soaked him the past 2 days.My question is,should I keep feeding him or wait until he defecates.
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RE: gaboon has not pooped in weeks
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by FSB on December 19, 2008
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Gaboon vipers have notoriuosly slow metabolisms and are known to add to their enormous body weight by retaining fecal material (Freud would have had a field day with them and his "anal retention" theories).
However, 13 weeks does seem a bit long... my gaboons average about one defecation a month, more or less, and the rate seems to slow as they grow. What temperatures have you been keeping it at? They tend to do better at somewhat lower temperatures, 75-78, and start showing signs of unhealthiness if kept above 80 for very long. Usually soaking in tepid water should produce a defecation, but I don't soak my gaboons on a regular basis, as it seems to stress them out uneccessarily.
How long have you had the snake, and how large is it?
Is there a chance, if it is an adult snake you haven't had very long, that it could be a gravid female?
If the snake last defecated 13 weeks ago, when was the last time it ate, and what did it eat? What is your caging like? All of these questions and more could provide a clue.
Not many vets will let you in the door with Bitis gabonica, and trying to diagnose an impaction in a gaboon is a very dicey proposition unless you really know what you're doing. You would need someone else with a lot of experience to help you tube the snake while you palpate and examine the cloaca. You might try gently lifting the tail with a hook and try to see if the cloacal area looks swollen or otherwise unusual. I have never had, or seen, impaction in Bitis, though I have seen the problem in boids.
The thing is, not even a licensed veterinarian can (or should) render a diagnosis without actually examining the animal, so there is only so much useful advice that you can get in an online forum. You should check around and try to find a venomous vet in your area, if you're lucky. You might also get some useful info from contacting snakegetters.com
Your profile looks good, but only 1 year of experience in keeping venomous is definitely pushing it for this species. After reading that, I definitely do not recommend taking any hands-on steps yourself. Where in Virginia do you live? If you are close enough, I might be able to come take a look.
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RE: gaboon has not pooped in weeks
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by theemojohnm on December 19, 2008
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Honestly, another species might be more concerning if displaying this infrequent defecation schedule, but I'm not as concerned about this, being Bitis.
I agree with Fred though, 13 weeks is a bit of a long time. Temperature would be my first thought. Try bumping up the temps a few degrees and continue to soak the snake. Do remember that the snake can also go a while without food before it becomes of concern, so maybe hold off on the next feeding.
There are some specifics that are needed to answer this question though, and Fred pretty much covered them. Temperature settings, heating methods, cage setup, and age of the animal are important.
How old is the animal? Juvenile?
Take Care,
~John Mendrola.
(Pennsylvania Woodland Herpetological).
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RE: gaboon has not pooped in weeks
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by theemojohnm on December 19, 2008
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That is a point that I added and the removed from my previous post Fred. I find that more often than not, reptile keepers are actually keeping their animals too HOT as opossed to too cold.
Take Care,
~John Mendrola.
(Pennsylvania Woodland Herpetological).
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RE: gaboon has not pooped in weeks
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by nerodiaJr on December 19, 2008
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Fred,the snake is a yearling male,cage is 4x2x2 for now,temp is kept in lower 80s on warm end,humidity is usually 60s.I keep him on news paper (for the sake of feeding)and provide hide boxes. Cloaca is not inflamed,nor does it look irritated.I will reduce temps skip feeding and continue to soak for another week.(I actually do not live far from you, we met at VMNH 2 years ago during reptile day.)
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RE: gaboon has not pooped in weeks
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by Rob_Carmichael on December 19, 2008
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Contrary to popular belief, you don't need to soak gaboons to keep them regular. Ambient humidity, accompanied with good air flow (but not drafty), plays a much more important role. I've kept a fair number of gabbies and none of them have ever needed to be soaked. They have medium, shallow water dishes and cages are heavily misted each day and slowly evaporates during the day so that they are never on a wet or even damp substrate. Add a few live plants to the cage - that will help boost humidity levels while improving air quality. And, like the others stated, lower those temps! It's okay to have a localized warm area in the low 80s AS LONG AS the snake can substantially cool down. Never guess on temps, hook all heating devices to a quality thermostat like a Herpstat which is what we use. I would also recommend waiting until the snake has defecated before offering more food.
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RE: gaboon has not pooped in weeks
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by FSB on December 21, 2008
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Hi Tony... "I actually do not live far from you, we met at VMNH 2 years ago during reptile day." Yeah, now I remember. Unfortunately, I no longer live that close to you as I am in Amherst County, closer to Lynchburg now. I wish I could recommend my brother to you as a vet, but I can't since he married a little redneck tart half his age who hates snakes and he does whatever she tells him to do (there's a term for that that I will not use in this forum). I actually think he has become afraid of them in his old age, and he'd just freak out if you brought a Gaboon to the clinic and give you a huge self-righteous lecture about how you have no business owning such a snake, etc. etc. It's no matter anyway, since his entire approach to treating reptiles is firmly locked up in the 1970's. After he used steel sutures instead of monocryl to repair a minor gash in a rescued EDB I had, I quit taking my snakes to him and returned to treating them myself. In considering a herp vet, I would suggest that people check to see if the vet matriculated at UGA, since I swear they must teach their students that reptiles are second-class animals beneath the contempt of any true veterinarian.
Anyway, enough ranting... I agree w/ Rob that soaking Gaboons is unnecessary as long as they are kept at an ambient humidity between 60 and 80%, and as I said previously, the practice can even induce harmful stress in these snakes that definitely do not like to be moved around or messed with in any way. However, I would suggest that you try a better substrate than newspaper. Soil/humus type mixtures are good for humidity, but I found the ambient climate in the mountains of southern Virginia to be well suited to gaboons and rhinos both in terms of humidity and temperature. I do recommend a generous misting every two days or so, and they will drink from a misting bottle if you keep it up long enough. My concern is that newspaper doesn't provide adequate support for their very heavy bodies. Gaboons like to rest on beds of thick, soft leaves, and I would think of them as being most uncomfortable lying on a flat, hard surface that can't mold to their body, and they may even develop structural problems as they grow. I use a generous bedding of thick-cut Kay-tee aspen, and have had no problems maintaining humidity and happy gabboons. They really like to burrow and wallow into it.
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RE: gaboon has not pooped in weeks
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by Phobos on December 21, 2008
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13 weeks is not unusual...my will sometimes hold on for 15 weeks....Her avg is 11 weeks right now...
Al
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