Garter poos in water dish--always

[bulrush]

I have an eastern garter snake. Every other day I feed him 2 minnows from a bait shop (fatheads?) in a cat food dish full of water, which is big enough for him to lay in. The last 5-6 feedings I noticed he has eaten the minnows, then promptly pooed in the water dish in which I placed the minnows. The last feeding I noticed he pooed in the water dish without eating the minnow. So I removed his food and the dish.

What is going on here? Is he protesting something?

[Stefan-A]

It's easier to poop in water. Sometimes the snakes seem to notice this and make a habit of doing it. I have one garter that does that very often and another three that just have bad aim; They barely miss the water dish.

[infernalis]

Look at it this way, It's easier to change the water, and not have to buy fresh substrate all the time:D

[ssssnakeluvr]

REALLY common....disgusting, but common. mine do it all the time!!!

[dashnu]

Mine tend to poop all other the place including the water dish :p

[anji1971]

I wish the babies would use the water dish.
It's incredibly hard to find all those teeny, tiny poos to scoop out!

[Aundrea]

Mine poops sometimes in the water but she does poop on the side of it lol But my boxie turtle poops in her water ALL THE TIME :p

[bulrush]

Actually I use clumping cat litter (I know some people don't like the dust it may have) but cleaning the litter is easier than scrubbing and disinfecting the water dish.

So, my other problem was his apparent lack of appetite. I remember I have not had his light on over his cage for about 7-10 days. Do you think that is it? Temperature is about 74-76F for the past 7 days also. Perhaps temp is a bit low?

Icky, nasty, dish pooper. :)

[Snake lover 3-25]

lol i have 2 water dishes in the cage and the first one to be pooped in becomes the communal litter box lol then they just use the other one for drinking:D

[Loren]

lol i have 2 water dishes in the cage and the first one to be pooped in becomes the communal litter box lol then they just use the other one for drinking:D
You got some smart snakes there, Shanley. They already understand the difference between the toilet and the sink !

Bulrush, I have noticed some snakes like to go in water as well. I dont see it as a problem. Saves money on bedding, since it lasts longer.
Just make sure and clean it as soon as you can so they dont drink it.

[anji1971]

So, my other problem was his apparent lack of appetite. I remember I have not had his light on over his cage for about 7-10 days. Do you think that is it? Temperature is about 74-76F for the past 7 days also. Perhaps temp is a bit low?


You could try raising the temps a bit, but I know mine are nearly constantly at the 75/76F range. I just have a heat mat at one end of each tank, which they rarely use, and I've never had an eating issue yet, even with the new babies.
It's always worth a try, though!:)

[infernalis]

I maintain the whole reptile room at a steady 77-80 and use no heat, they all eat like piggies:D

A sneaky trick is to try and feed when it is either raining out or a storm is blowing in, Garters have a built in "barometric pressure sensor" since prey is plentiful after a rain.

[Loren]

I keep my reptile room between 77-84 during the summer, and 72 - 84 winter. I have 4" flexwatt for many of the snakes, and the rest are at ambient.

[Charlet_2007]

all my snakes poop in there water.. try having a 8 foot 25+ pound red tail that took a small rabbit and then about 4 days later left a nice one about the size of my fist in the water.. think god its in the water and not in the tank.. :D:D:D:D

[infernalis]

Boid poo is so much better to clean than Colubrid poo hands down...

Eek an unintended poo pun:eek:

Really, I wish all my snakes turds were like the pythons poo..

[crzy_kevo]

i found problalby the largest garter poo in the water dish today and i was glad it was in there rather than the substrate

[Snake lover 3-25]

lol i hate spot cleaning!!!!

[Loren]

all my snakes poop in there water.. try having a 8 foot 25+ pound red tail that took a small rabbit and then about 4 days later left a nice one about the size of my fist in the water.. think god its in the water and not in the tank.. :D:D:D:D


Whats really nice is when that happens on the first day of a 3 day vacation in the summer, so it gets to sit and stink up the house for you until you get home. :)

[Garter_Gertie]

My poo doesn't stink. At least the poo I get on my hands and the turdlettes in the tank. And that's all the poo I know about.

[bulrush]

You could try raising the temps a bit, but I know mine are nearly constantly at the 75/76F range. I just have a heat mat at one end of each tank, which they rarely use, and I've never had an eating issue yet, even with the new babies.
It's always worth a try, though!:)
Thanks. When his light is on his tank gets to 80F each day. His light has been on since Monday and each day I offer him one minnow, but no takers yet. I am now leaving one small water dish for pooping, and one for the live minnow.

[anji1971]

Maybe he's just getting tired of minnows. They can be fussy like that sometimes.
Have you tried nightcrawlers? Mine go absolutely bonkers for those!:)

[GartersRock]

He'll probably poop on the minnow. lol!! :)

[infernalis]

with all this talk of poo, has anyone even noticed Stefan's new signature phrase??:rolleyes::eek:

[Garter_Gertie]

with all this talk of poo, has anyone even noticed Stefan's new signature phrase??:rolleyes::eek:

I'm NOT gonna say a word and touch that line...

[GartersRock]

Lol!! No. *Off to go look at it*

[infernalis]

I'm NOT gonna say a word and touch that line...

Too late MK, you already did:eek:

[jitami]

Who once said that everything poops easier in water? :o

MySpaceTV Videos: POLAR BEAR POO POO by Nick Spears (http://vids.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=vids.individual&videoid=40648309)

[Garter_Gertie]

I know tapirs need water in order to poop. Learned taht when working at the MN Zoo.

[Loren]

with all this talk of poo, has anyone even noticed Stefan's new signature phrase??:rolleyes::eek:

Yes- now that you mentioned it, I looked at it, and had to do a little bit of research to translate it.
I like it. :)

[aSnakeLovinBabe]

Boid poo is so much better to clean than Colubrid poo hands down...

Eek an unintended poo pun:eek:

Really, I wish all my snakes turds were like the pythons poo..

amen wayne!!! some of my balls hold their poop until they shed!!! and then when they go..... they GO.

[GartersRock]

My blood pythons poo is HUGE..... But SOO easy to pickup. lol!

[Garter_Gertie]

Wish that was the case with Labs being baby-sat...

[drache]

my most recent adoption, Bonsai, the corn, has the most intense smelling poop and pee
I've been trying to plump him up a bit and his poops still come out a bit small, but they're no longer as dry as they were and the smell is such that I have to do something about it instantly
I wish he did poop in his water bowl, like he did the first couple of times, because that would make cleaning faster

[Loren]

Well, while we are on this gross subject, :) my 5 foot+ gopher snake just made the biggest dump that I personally have every had to clean up from a snake. She eats medium rats.

[Garter_Gertie]

Only naturalists and folks that have less than everyday pets can talk like this and not have it bother them.

[infernalis]

There is another Gertie, I won't even go there:eek:

[drache]

med students
if you're sensitive that way, don't have lunch near a table of med students

[anji1971]

I grew up in a house with two parents who were in the medical field. I learned to consider these types of topics as everyday stuff at a very early age. I can even discuss it at the dinner table if anyone is willing!:D;)

[ssssnakeluvr]

I was a vet tech in the army for 4 years.....this kind of talk is nothing....our sense of humor was rough....some people might not find things funny that we did.....like when a buddy of mine in Korea (my best friend in the vet tech school) was assisting a vet with a necropsy on a military dog....the vet couldn't find the left kidney....my buddy Steve was laughing....while the vet had turned his back to put a sample of an organ in a bottle, Steve popped the kidney out and put it in his pocket....the vet got a kick out of it after he found out what Steve did...:eek:

[GartersRock]

Rofl!! Funny story Don!!

[drache]

yup
when you study chinese medicine you differentiate many things by the precise appearance and consistency of fecal matter and you end up discussing these things over lunch at cafes, and soon enough, people are giving you looks from neighbouring tables and look around for tables further away from you . . .
but then, if those folks had stuck around any longer, they could have found out other interesting tidbits, such as, when reviving a drowning victim, you throw them over the back of a water buffalo, spread their legs, and stick a large needle in the perineum (between the anus and the naughty bits)
now doesn't that sound every bit as much fun as mouth-to-mouth?

[ssssnakeluvr]

yup
when you study chinese medicine you differentiate many things by the precise appearance and consistency of fecal matter and you end up discussing these things over lunch at cafes, and soon enough, people are giving you looks from neighbouring tables and look around for tables further away from you . . .
but then, if those folks had stuck around any longer, they could have found out other interesting tidbits, such as, when reviving a drowning victim, you throw them over the back of a water buffalo, spread their legs, and stick a large needle in the perineum (between the anus and the naughty bits)
now doesn't that sound every bit as much fun as mouth-to-mouth?
not sure h ow that would help....other than reviving them with the pain of a large needle poked in them....in the nether regions!!!!

[drache]

not sure h ow that would help....other than reviving them with the pain of a large needle poked in them....in the nether regions!!!!it's the perineum point - it does apparently have some special properties - not that I've ever used it
I did see one of my teachers bring a man out of an epileptic seizure with another special point, and I've stopped asthma attacks, so I'm inclined to think it might work
however, if there are any onlookers, you're probably better off just doing the mouth to mouth
if you did have a water buffalo handy, and you threw the person over it's back, it could get a lot of the water out of their lungs, which would save you some of that pumping

oh boy - I'm supposed to be doing office work . . .

[ssssnakeluvr]

it's the perineum point - it does apparently have some special properties - not that I've ever used it
I did see one of my teachers bring a man out of an epileptic seizure with another special point, and I've stopped asthma attacks, so I'm inclined to think it might work
however, if there are any onlookers, you're probably better off just doing the mouth to mouth
if you did have a water buffalo handy, and you threw the person over it's back, it could get a lot of the water out of their lungs, which would save you some of that pumping

oh boy - I'm supposed to be doing office work . . .

stopped an asthma attack????? fill me in on that one!!! I have asthma and hate it!!!!! have been having a lot of problems with it lately....:(