This may seem like a strange question, but if you actually pay attention to your pet snake, you may notice that sometimes it will go to the spot to go potty, and this makes some new snake owners wonder if this is done intentionally or if it’s just random chance.
Thankfully, I have a lot (and I do mean a lot) of snake-owning friends who have experience with different types and species, and I was able to quickly poll them and got some very interesting answers.
So, do snakes poop in the same spot? Snakes do not poop in the same spot intentionally, and that could be because snakes in nature do not have ‘homes’ and spend their lives wandering, however, some snakes seem to prefer going potty in a certain spot that they are comfortable enough to feel it’s safe but not so comfortable that it’s their main hiding spot.
It’s really questions like these that make it very clear how little do we know about snakes, and I know for a fact that you have a lot of questions right now, so let me try my best to answer them in the rest of this article, so keep reading!
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Do Snakes poop in the same spot?
The truth is, no one has done a conclusive study on the pooping habits of snakes. We do know the basics of how snakes go potty, but we don’t know as much about their habits as we do with other animals like dogs or cats.
That’s because we generally don’t know a lot about snakes, we have only been raising snakes as pets for a few decades (compared to a few millennia with dogs and cats), and the scientific community doesn’t prioritize research on snakes (there are more important things to worry about than snake poop).
But if you have had your snake for a while now, you may have noticed how your snake can look like it’s pooping in the same spot.
Sometimes, this is actually true, but it’s unlikely to be done intentionally. Other times, it’s just chance and is not really true.
The main theory among snake owners is that some snakes will choose to poop in a spot that is comfortable and safe enough for them to go potty there, but not so comfortable and safe that it’s their favorite spot in the tank.
Snakes do not poop where they hide, and no animal would do that, it’s a basic survival instinct because poop smells and the smell attracts predators, so you want to hide your poop in the wild or bury it so you hide the smell.
How do snakes poop?
Snake anatomy is very different from that of mammals, and this is one of the areas where this becomes very apparent.
For mammals, poop will come out of the anus, but for snakes, it will come out of their cloaca (also called their vent), which is just one opening they use for reproducing and eliminating waste (both poop and pee).
Another very clear difference between snakes and mammals is that snakes will only go potty when its body fully digests the meal and is ready to eliminate it, and they will eliminate it all at once. This is also different from how mammals do it (as we do it much more often and often on more than one time).
This means that snakes will usually poop only once every few days or a few weeks even, depending on how often they eat, the size of their meals, as well as how humid or hot their environment is.
Keep in mind that snakes can go a long time between meals, sometimes months even, and you can learn more about this in my guide to how long can snakes go between meals here.
What does it mean when a snake poops multiple times a day?
Defecating more than once between meals is a sign of a health problem in snakes, snakes normally poop just once in between meals, so if it does it more than once, it’s time to have a vet check the snake.
Do Snakes poop once a month?
If your snake is eating only one meal per month, then your snake could poop only once a month, but since most pet snakes will eat a meal every week or two weeks, your snake will usually poop once between feedings to get rid of the food they last ate and get ready for the next meal.
When you see your snake’s poop, it probably means they are ready for their next meal.
How long after eating do snakes poop?
Your snake should poop about 8-10 days after eating a meal, but this can change depending on the size of the meal, the temperature of its enclosure, and the overall health of the snake.
If your snake has not gone #2 even after 2 weeks of their last feeding, something is wrong and you may want to help them defecate.
How to help your snake poop?
If your snake has not gone #two after two weeks of their last feeding, you can try to help them by gently massaging their belly. This will usually do the trick and get things moving again.
In some cases, if the stool is very dry, a little water may be all that is needed to help it slide out more easily. Simply fill their bowl with warm water and help them drink it or soak in it to loosen their stool.
If your snake still isn’t going after doing all of the above, it’s time to take her to the vet for a check-up.
Why does your snake poop on you when you hold it?
If your snake secretes something while you hold it, it’s a sign the snake is very stressed and you should do your best to find out what is causing this and solve it. You can learn what causes snakes to be stressed here.
This is also not poop. Their metabolic waste (the stuff that was subjected to biochemical processes outside of their GI tract) is excreted in the form of a semi-liquid with their feces. Urates are the term for these things. If your snake happens to be musking rather than urinating, it’s not peeing on you.
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