How Long Does It Take for Blood Pythons to Digest Food?

Snakes eating in a different way than people and even most animals do. Snakes consume relatively large prey, infrequently, and they digest it very slowly. The blood python is unique even among snakes. Whereas some may digest their food in a day or two; blood pythons have slower digestive processes. They may take weeks to digest a single meal. They defecate very infrequently.

  1. Blood Python Defecation

    • Most python species will completely digest a food item, then defecate the entire meal before or shortly after, their next feeding. Blood pythons are different. They may eat two, three or four times between defecations. Temperature, hydration, size and species of food, and amount of exercise affect a snake's frequency of defecation. Blood pythons may defecate a week after eating or six weeks after eating.

    Diet

    • Blood pythons primarily consume rats in the wild, though they likely feed on other mammals and birds when opportunity presents. The development of agriculture in Southeast Asia -- and the concurrent rise in the rodent population -- benefits the pythons. Keepers generally feed captive blood pythons rats, though some keepers feed rabbits or chickens to large adults. Young hatchlings are big enough to eat full-grown mice, or rat fuzzies, for their first meal.

    Temperatures

    • Proper temperatures are essential for a blood python's appetite and digestion. The speed of digestion is dependent on the temperature of the snake, but there are limits at both ends of the spectrum; excessively hot or cold temperatures halt digestion and often induce vomiting. Blood pythons exhibit excellent feeding responses when maintained in the low 80s Fahrenheit; this is especially true of hatchlings, who may refuse food at higher temperatures. When digesting food, blood pythons should always be in temperatures between 78 and 90 degrees Fahrenheit ̵1; temperatures outside of this range can cause poor digestion and regurgitation.

    Hydration

    • Dehydration can cause constipation; avoid it by providing clean fresh water at all times. Additionally, routine soaking programs will ensure that your animal remains hydrated. Most snakes will defecate if you place them in a shallow pan of lukewarm water to soak for a few hours. In addition to drinking, snakes can absorb some water through their cloaca while soaking, which further aids hydration. Be sure to change the water as it becomes fouled so the snake doesn̵7;t drink the dirty water.

    Exercise and Cage Size

    • Snakes benefit from exercise, which helps the digestive processes to proceed consistently. If yours is a calm animal, handle your blood python regularly to provide some exercise. Blood pythons need larger cages than other snakes their size; unfortunately, they're often housed in inappropriately small cages as keepers usually base cage size on snake length. Always provide cages large enough to accommodate the exceptional bulk of blood pythons. Adult blood pythons need 6 to 12 square feet of cage space. Provide juveniles 1 to 4 square feet of space, depending on size.