Snake pooing blood, please help

[Parkinson]

Please can someone help me don't know how to post something to all!!my checkerd albino garter is pooing blood:( please anyone help !!!

[ConcinusMan]

You did just post. More information is needed. Lets have details. How long have you had it? where'd you get it? what's it been eating? More questions to follow.

Is the poo watery? Is the cloaca area red and inflamed? first thought is it could possibly be crypto or flagellate infection.. Fairly common in the captive reptile trade. Most reptiles are considered susceptible to Cryptosporidiosis, especially snakes. immediate treatment with a medication called "flagyl" (Metronidazole) might cure it.

We aren't vets or zoologists here. Only responsible advice we can give you is to see a vet immediately. A fecal sample and assessment of the overall health of the snake is essential for determining a course of action.

[guidofatherof5]

We'd love to help if we can but as Richard said, more info and maybe photos are needed.

[Stefan-A]

Just to rule out something silly: Have you been feeding the snake salmon or trout, by any chance?

[guidofatherof5]

Not silly. Good question for this incident.

[Parkinson]

hi yes trout..she 2yrs old had babies in may,its been a light blood sighting a couple of tims this week but nothing to alarming at first i thought i was seeing things maybe an off brown colour but it was about a 5pence circle of blood very clear in her poo when i was holding her..last night i found a small slug 2cm in her dish of water maybe just her waste that had expanded in the water?? she seems fine eating well etc..

[gibble888]

Just to rule out something silly: Have you been feeding the snake salmon or trout, by any chance?

Do tell please...:confused:

[Parkinson]

hi yes trout..she 2yrs old had babies in may,its been a light blood sighting a couple of times this week but nothing to alarming at first i thought i was seeing things maybe an off brown colour but it was about a 5pence circle of blood very clear in her poo when i was holding her..last night i found a small slug 2cm in her dish of water maybe just her waste that had expanded in the water?? she seems fine eating well etc..

[Stefan-A]

Farmed trout and salmon are fed a harmless additive (typically Astaxanthin - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Astaxanthin)) that gives the meat the same red color as their wild counterparts have. That additive passes through the snake and ends up staining the feces red. It's easy to tell apart from blood, because blood turns brown when it dries, while astaxanthin remains bright red.
edit: It appears that wild salmon contains the same substance.

Here's an example picture.

http://koti.mbnet.fi/thamnoph/photos/snakesies08/redpoop1.jpg

Note: This may not be what's going on in your particular case, but it's a likely explanation.

[Parkinson]

thankyou so much x it seems to be the same still worried though will try and upload a photo in the morning of the poop! thanks again to all :)

[Parkinson]

98109811Garter still not feeding it appears that they are both we'll not distressed the female is feeding loads just earth worms as I wanted to rule out the orange blood that comes from trout but as for the male nothing for a couple of weeks:( so worried now any advice would be great fully revived x

[guidofatherof5]

I'm a bit confused. Which snake is the possible blood photo from?
Is the female the only one that is eating and is she feeding on worms only?

[Parkinson]

Female only eating earth worms placed some vitamins in the water for them and the bloods from both although that particular picture I have to say I'm unsure think its time I split them up?:( I just don't understand the female and male both off there food for a couple of weeks both blood? Then the female started taking food again the other day! Was great but still so concerned... Nobody seems to know, my eleven year old son said maybe there fighting but they get on so well always wrapped up together and besides there albino so I'm sure I would see marks? Just feel lost keep thinking I'm going to find one has died...

[ConcinusMan]

My advice: forget vitamins in the water and that might be the source of the color. All they need is perhaps tiny dusting of calcium about every other month. They wouldn't even need that if you will just get them eating pinkies and/or whole fish. They also wouldn't need a supplement if you gut loaded the worms with rich black dirt from decomposed leaf litter and add a pinch of bone meal to the soil. Water should just be that. Fresh clean clear water and don't use distilled. Spring water or tap is fine.

[Parkinson]

98169815All my garters have vitamins that what I originally thought it could be but they would all have it?? So concerned just bathed the male he was covered in blood it's defiantly him...

[d_virginiana]

You need to separate them immediately. When you think a snake might be sick the first thing to do is separate them. Nothing in that glob looks like poo or urates... It looks like infection. Could be some sort of parasite issue? If this has been going on for weeks, my advice is take him to a vet. He probably needs antibiotics.

Just wondering... I have no idea what a mating injury looks like, but could that have something to do with this? I know the males' parts sometimes get damaged during mating.

[ConcinusMan]

You need to see a vet straight up. Very well could be flagellates. (single celled parasitic amoebas) They'll have to look at that under a high magnification microscope and if it's what i think it is, you're going to need a prescription for metronidazole. It's an antibiotic so it will kill those and any possible secondary bacterial infections. They'll all have to treated simultaneously and everything they come in contact with, as well as the surrounding area and any equipment you use in the area will have to be disinfected thoroughly during and after treatment otherwise they'll just get reinfected. If I were you I would disinfect your hands any time you go anywhere near them AND wear gloves. You can get infected too.

They do very well in plain water but to make matters worse, you're feeding them nutrients. Change the water very frequently and disinfect the bowl every time.

Your snakes have parasites dude. Highly contagious ones. OTC antiparasitic drugs aren't going to cut it. You need a vet.

[Parkinson]

Thanks for all the feedback x after that last photo I think parasites was in my mind he is kept away from all the others and the first sign of blood I wore gloves and took extra care,he was until yesterday with the female but after that bath photos showed last he's now split from her too..going vet today thanks again all Sarah xxx

[ConcinusMan]

It's not going to be an easy thing to get rid of. They will however get better almost immediately after being medicated. It's the reinfection that's difficult since this parasite can live in a dormant state on dry surfaces all over the area. Simply touching your snakes or anything they come in contact with, then touching something else spreads them. You're going to need a strong disinfectant such as F10 and use it even on the doorknobs in the house, virtually everywhere you touch. Follow the vet's instructions to the letter and be vigilant even after treatment to nip it in the bud should they become reinfected. Good news is , it's not a death sentence. Fight the good fight and your snakes will be OK. Untreated it can lead to secondary infections, anemia, and death though.

One more thing. call the vet ahead of time and tell them what you suspect they have and wait for instructions. don't just bring them into the vet and plop them on a scale. You don't want to spread it in the vet facility!

[BLUESIRTALIS]

Agreed! I have dealt with this before and it is highly contagious and can spread like wild fire so you need to treat both the male and female. Listen to richard and disinfect everything and it would be a good idea to keep the infected animals in a different room until completely treated and be very sanitary! I hope this is not what your dealing with, but it looks and sounds very familiar! A vet visit will be required to clear this up! I hope all goes well! Good luck!
it's not going to be an easy thing to get rid of. They will however get better almost immediately after being medicated. It's the reinfection that's difficult since this parasite can live in a dormant state on dry surfaces all over the area. Simply touching your snakes or anything they come in contact with, then touching something else spreads them. You're going to need a strong disinfectant such as f10 and use it even on the doorknobs in the house, virtually everywhere you touch. Follow the vet's instructions to the letter and be vigilant even after treatment to nip it in the bud should they become reinfected. Good news is , it's not a death sentence. Fight the good fight and your snakes will be ok. Untreated it can lead to secondary infections, anemia, and death though.

One more thing. Call the vet ahead of time and tell them what you suspect they have and wait for instructions. Don't just bring them into the vet and plop them on a scale. You don't want to spread it in the vet facility!

[ConcinusMan]

Nothing in that glob looks like poo or urates... It looks like infection. Could be some sort of parasite issue?

Agreed and yes I think it is parasites. The reason i think it's flagellates is the symptoms fit and they all have it. That looks like mucous and/or secondary bacterial infection. Sometimes tapeworms or hookworms can cause bleeding but those don't spread from snake to snake easily or at all while flagellates are highly contagious. Think of this illness as the snake version of dysentery.

They either had it when you got them and so the person you got them from likely has this spreading through his/her collection, or they somehow got it from contaminated water or soil. Being how you feed them worms they could have gotten them from soil / contaminated batch of earthworms. I would reconsider getting worms from any source you have been using and find another or better yet, stop feeding them worms and get them on rodents.

[d_virginiana]

You should probably barricade the room as well if you have kids or dogs/cats. The last thing you want is your dog snuffling around on the floor and coming into contact with it. When mine had a parasite that could transfer to mammals, the entire apartment went on lockdown.

[Parkinson]

You should probably barricade the room as well if you have kids or dogs/cats. The last thing you want is your dog snuffling around on the floor and coming into contact with it. When mine had a parasite that could transfer to mammals, the entire apartment went on lockdown.
We'll turns out "he is in fact a she"feel like such a dunce well it looks like she has misscarried?? Still off her food but main panic over...her tail dose look more male but upon further examination it's not:) just hope her apatite picks up soon ..thanks for all the advice everyone much appreciated x

[guidofatherof5]

Glad the mystery is solved. Keep us updated on her eating.

[BLUESIRTALIS]

That snake in the pic looks male to me! Did the vet do a fecal on this snake? Something's not right here! Please post pics that shows the underside of this snakes tail. I have over 100 garters and have never had one miscarriage. I have had them throw slugs/jellies, but never anything that looked like that!
We'll turns out "he is in fact a she"feel like such a dunce well it looks like she has misscarried?? Still off her food but main panic over...her tail dose look more male but upon further examination it's not:) just hope her apatite picks up soon ..thanks for all the advice everyone much appreciated x

[d_virginiana]

We'll turns out "he is in fact a she"feel like such a dunce well it looks like she has misscarried?? Still off her food but main panic over...her tail dose look more male but upon further examination it's not:) just hope her apatite picks up soon ..thanks for all the advice everyone much appreciated x

How do you know it's a female suddenly? Not to criticize, but what's to say that your new guess is right when your old one wasn't? Did you see actual unfertilized ovum?

Even if you are right and this has something to do with a 'miscarriage', something still looks wrong. You shouldn't see blood like that. You're still dealing with an infection of some sort, and that snake still needs to see a vet for it.

[Parkinson]

How do you know it's a female suddenly? Not to criticize, but what's to say that your new guess is right when your old one wasn't? Did you see actual unfertilized ovum?

Even if you are right and this has something to do with a 'miscarriage', something still looks wrong. You shouldn't see blood like that. You're still dealing with an infection of some sort, and that snake still needs to see a vet for it.
She saw a vet said she had fallen pregnant to early...I'm still not 100percent convinced I've never got the sex wrong myself we'll sorry to say I let her go back to original owner said what I thought and what I'd been told just don't want to take the risk anymore felt really bad but I've got my others to think about baby's everything and all my attention the past month has been on her/him?? Strange but the worrie that says it could of been parasites still stays with me, just had to make a choice :(:( regrettably had to take it back

[ConcinusMan]

I agree with the rest of the comments. There's nothing about this that seems to have anything to do with "early pregnancy". And "miscarriage" for a snake does not involve bleeding from the cloaca or mucous looking secretions. They just drop unfertilized eggs, dead babies, paritally developed eggs, etc. No blood involved.