Snake not pooping

[jwightman]

I have had my 4 yr old JCP for about a year and something is going on that has never happened before. He has stopped pooping. He has not gone since Christmas. He eats 2 mice very 2 weeks and is eating well (i'm about to feed him again). He just hasn't gone poop. He also bit me for the first time last week and wouldn't let go for almost a minute. I guess I'd be grumpy too if I was constipated for over a month! If anyone has had similar experiences or any ideas, please let me know. I'm a science teacher and he is our class pet.

Also, now I'm afraid to pick him up since he bit me. How do I get past it?

Thanks
Science Teacher

[Dark_Angel_25]

Well I am not a JCP expert but I do see a MAJOR problem...

you feed your snake 2 MICE every 2 WEEKS? IMO, this is why you got bitten, that is NOT enough!
You shoul dbe feeding him RATS,

Anyway as for the pooping, maybe because the meals are so small, he is digesting them slower to get the most out of them. The other option is your husbandry. what are your temps like?

[gonesnakee]

How big is the snake? Sounds to me that it isn't being fed nearly enough. Most likely trying to eat you out of hunger! The 2 mice every 2 weeks is something I would expect to hear a small yearling might be eating (if not more). I doubt it is constipated, but rather just hasn't been fed enough to even poop lately. Boids can go for long periods without a poop, especially when they are barely being fed enough to subsist. When a snake bites out of anger/fear/grumpy etc. they will usually bite & release. When they bite because they are hungry, they don't release & will quite often constrict & have to be removed manually. A JCP of that age should be a full grown adult at approx 6 feet & eating large rats (small rabbits) or like 10 jumbo mice at a time. Definitely sounds like it requires much larger meals. A general rule of thumb for an older (subadult/adult) python is the prey should be the same girth or up to 1.5-2 times as thick as the thickest part of the snake & 2-3 prey items at a time based on size of them vs the snakes girth. Like if the prey was the same girth or just a little bigger like 3 if the prey was double the girth maybe only 1 item. Also as mentioned Husbandry. I would suggest reading up on them some & make sure everything is OK husbandry wise & if so start increasing meal sizes appropriately based on the size of the specimen. Good Luck Mark
P.S. because it has been feeding on mice it might not want to switch over to Rats very easily. I would suggest trying so right away as the snake is probably hungry enough to try one.

[Invictus]

In my personal experience, if carpets aren't RAISED on rats, you will never get them to go near one. Even the big 6.5 footer I got from you a while back Mark, hehehe... little b*stard had to be fed 10 mice in a feeding. Now I have 2 other JCP, and guess what... put a rat anywhere near them, and they literally flee from it.

However, I do agree with the assessment that the snake is starving. Up those meals!

[jwightman]

Thanks to all of you for your replies. I will start feeding my snake more right away. The mice I feed are about the size of his girth, he's not very fat, but I'll up the quantity. As a matter of fact, he pooped this morning too.

Thanks again for all the helpful input.