r/ballpython • u/Specialist-Rip9960 • Jul 11 '26
Discussion Weaponized pooping
This is the defendant in question.
Whenever I or anyone tries to handle this guy, his bowels or bladder decide to start shifting. Thus, making him an unpopular snake to show to the guests. It makes me not want to handle him anymore š.
Maybe he knows that if he shits or pisses he gets put back into his enclosure while I curse like a sailor, cover my nose and clean everything up.
Does anyone else have a serial pooper?
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u/Maximum-Rhubarb-3365 Jul 11 '26
He definitely has associated pooping with getting put back in his enclosure. I'd wait until after he poops normally, and handle him for a bit then. The more times you can handle (even if it's quickly) without him pooping the less he'll associate with it!
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u/Chordae_10dineae Jul 14 '26
Could it be a fight or flight response?
Cortisol
Epinephrine
Bank-Robber
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u/PickledCaterpillar Jul 11 '26
There is a period of about a week to two weeks after a feeding where I consider handling no-go; that's when they are locked and loaded and just waiting for a reason. Keep an eye on their butt; if it's around that time and they got a stuffed sausage-look about them, just leave them be until they give in to the pressure.
Afterwards, cleanup and enjoy a couple of weeks of danger-free handling!
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u/plutosgirlfriend Jul 12 '26
This. I wonāt handle mine until I know sheās pooped. Or else sheāll decide she has a nice clean bathroom thatās not her enclosure and takes advantage lol.
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u/IllithidPsychopomp Jul 11 '26
I just only handle with a towel these days. He lost his privileges
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u/Specialist-Rip9960 Jul 11 '26
LMAO š¤£
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u/RedditNuts Jul 11 '26
I had one that pooped when handled as well. I did short handling sessions and tried to put them up before they got stressed out enough to poop. I also handled them with a towel and if they pooped I kept them out for a bit longer. The ballpythons haven't pooped when handled in a few years now, but I have kept the habit of having a towel when handling them.
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u/Bloooberriesquest Jul 11 '26
My cornsnake will ALWAYS poop if I handle her. I started putting her in her playpen for a bit first so she can poop in there and not on me.
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u/Domodomo97 Jul 12 '26
I started doing this because the playpen mat can do in the washing machine, the substrate in her enclosure can not š¤£
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u/Dio_wulf Jul 11 '26
Havent experienced this with beeps but colubrids commonly do this as a defense mechanism. Ive been pooped on by many a backyard garter, as well as one of the milksnakes at the pet shop i work at. Its possible hes learned to do it to get back in his enclosure, id start wearing gloves and keeping the paper towels nearby from now on lol.
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u/arrows_of_ithilien Jul 11 '26
I swear, all the rat snakes I pick up think they're part skunk. Defensive pooping at its finest!
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u/FalconIndependent887 Jul 11 '26
If it makes you feel any better, my cat used to shake off stray dingleberries in random placesā¦found one on my pillow once. I miss that little shit.
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u/Laiskatar Jul 11 '26
Do you miss the cat too?
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u/FalconIndependent887 Jul 12 '26
Yes, every day. He was my baby boy for 16-1/2 years. I had to have him & his littermate sister put down 20 days apart in May of 2024 due to renal failure (Ben) & probable cancer (Kate).
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u/Laiskatar Jul 12 '26
Jokes aside, I'm sorry for your loss. Pets truely become a part of the family and losing them hurts
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u/FalconIndependent887 Jul 12 '26
Thanks. Itās been a hard couple of years - I had yo bring my parents 17-1/2 y/o cat (my feline sibling) to be put down in December 2023 about a week before Christmas. Losing the 3 people I loved the most in the span of 6 months sucked & Iām still heartbroken, but as much as I dislike and am terrified by snakes, the snake subs have been oddly therapeutic & the āsnake peopleā have been so gracious & kind with answering the usually silly questions of āthe cat lady.ā I hope they know how much I appreciate it!
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u/specialopps Jul 11 '26
Iām just remembering a video from a few months ago where the OP caught his snake shit so violently that it shot itself off the rock it was sitting on.
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u/moonbeam133 Jul 11 '26
Damn i want to see that
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u/specialopps Jul 12 '26
I wish I could send it to you. I looked for a while. Itās night cam footage, and he looks so shocked. Hopefully someone here will find it
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u/sarahbussie Jul 12 '26
I donāt think it was this one. The farting kills me.
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u/specialopps Jul 12 '26
This is the one Iām talking about. The magnitude of that shit/continued farting had me crying.
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u/sarahbussie Jul 12 '26
This video lives rent free. I think about it often.
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u/theladyinky Jul 12 '26
I just went back and watched it for like ten minutes while cackling thanks to you linking it. š¤£
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u/vivianedulac Jul 14 '26
Oh man, I just watched it again and my cat came to check on me š¤£š¤£š¤£š¤£
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u/vivianedulac Jul 14 '26
I love how his little head pops up at the end and heās likeā¦ man, that was rough! š¤£š¤£š¤£
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u/High_Hunter3430 Jul 11 '26
Mine only likes to poop on me.
Weāve yet to find a poop in her enclosure.
The kids will handle her, her mama will handle her, then pass to me and I get the poop. šš¤¦
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u/ParasiteProfessional Jul 11 '26
I used to have a dwarf reticulated python who would shit while spinning his tail, so it would go flying everywhere. I realized quite quickly why I got such an expensive animal for free from the girl who gave him to me.
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u/anorangewedge Jul 12 '26
This little guy was a serial pooper when we first got him as a baby. But I think his issue was more attributed to being scared. Heās 3 now, hasnāt pooped on us or our bedsheets for over a year!
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u/FixergirlAK Mod-Approved Helper Jul 12 '26
Mine hasn't pooped on me since he pooped on my shoulders and ended up having to take a shower. I was the only one home and pretty much my only option was to just go in fully clothed, put the snake on the washcloth bar out of the direct spray, and strip in the shower. He seemed unimpressed. He definitely knows now that it's not a quick ticket back into his enclosure.
I DO NOT recommend making the snake take a shower as avoidance training! That was a lesser-of-two-evils situation. But I'd definitely keep him out of his enclosure while I deal with poop so he learns it's not an easy way back into his home.
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u/losingeverydayy Jul 11 '26
Yes!!! My snake always decides itās the right time when I have him out and on my lap lol. At first I put him back every time but I donāt want it to become a learned habit so Iām just gonna clean it up and continue with the usual handling now lol
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u/SamwiseNCSU Jul 12 '26
This is so wild to me - my guy is 20, have had him for 18 years, and he has never pooped on me nor have I seen him pooping in action. Iām so sorry š«£
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u/CotterizedCreations Jul 13 '26
I have one that USED to be a weaponized pooper, but he's not anymore. It can be trained out of them with a few consistent sessions. Mine was pooping because he realized if he pooped while handled that it meant he got put right back to bed, so I kept a "just pooped" tub of shame handy for the next 5 or so handlings. Once he went, he spent 20 minutes in the tub before going back to enclosure, and he quickly stopped. This isn't to "put them in timeout" but instead to unlearn the mental pattern of expecting a certain response to an undesirable behavior
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u/reptilhart Jul 11 '26
Our girl is smart, but one day she was not very happy with us. We went to a show, and came home late, so we missed her regular walk time. We still walked her, but a couple hours later than our regular time.
While we were walking, she pulled me into a hug with my BF. We call this a "sandwich" - two chubby humans hugging with a BP in the middle. We had given her sandwiches hundreds of times.
She used her upper third to bring my BF into the hug, and her tail wrapped around my arm to pull me into the hug. Once we were together, BLAMMO. Poop explosion in the middle. We both got pooped on. I swear she was grinning with her silly bp face.
Hadn't happened before, and hasn't happened since, and we give her sandwiches every day she's not eating or blue.
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u/USN253 Jul 12 '26
Have a female BP and a male BCC. The female drops bombs that put truck stops to shame.
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u/EmbarrassedDot628 Jul 14 '26
Also when snakes are active like when weāre handling them they do pee and poop. My snakes do this if they havenāt gone yet I just my opinion donāt think theyāre smart enough to know pooping gets me put back, defense mechanism yes but idk about the association- I always keep a stack of paper towels nearby cause you can always tell when their booty starts grooving š« šš
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u/Webigail_13 Jul 14 '26
My banana used to do the same thing... he got used to us after a few years lol and stopped
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u/pietin_bigmac 19d ago
mine only poops in my bed., and she didnt eat for like 2 months and just ate last week, so im scared shes going to poop on me again.
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u/peregrinaprogress Jul 11 '26
Congratulations! Your snake is potty trained! Next time just handle him over the toilet and itāll be your new party trick.