I don't normally post on fauna much. I try to do mostly reading; however, I can't help but to post on this.
First off, I have had snakes not even use the bathroom in a 6 week period before. Especially when they are off feed or in the transitional stage from a smaller to larger prey. So to have that much fecal matter in a 6 week period, not likely. Even with regular feedings of good size prey, my snakes use the bathroom every 2 -3 weeks at the most.
Second, I rescued a ball python about 3 years ago. He had been neglected for almost 6 years. When I got him, he had NO muscle tone, flat, and was in horrible shape. He had an impaction because he didn't have the muscle to push urates and fecal out. We soaked him and massaged his tail, pushing the fecal matter out. Furthermore, the environment he came from was never cleaned and sitting on top of the A/C and heater vent. Over a 3 year period, this snake had only been fed maybe 4 times. For his first feeding with me, he couldn't even wrap the poor rat. All he could do was turn his head. He couldn't ball up. All he could do was dangle. That first winter, he ate and ate and ate. He was an eating machine. By the next winter, he was coiling rats, balling up pretty tight, and had regained muscle. Now he is your typical ball python that goes off feed every fall and starts back up in the spring. He has not ate since early October but I still offer him food every 3-4 weeks just in case he wants something. I checked him out last weekend and last night and he still is looking good.
A healthy snake cannot lose weight like some of those snakes in a couple of months. This ball python was neglected for years and years. He was housed with 2 other ball pythons that died from the neglect. After their death, the owner realized she was not able to care for the snakes and started asking around for someone to take it. When I took it, they offered me the cage but the snake smelled like cigarette smoke and the cage was the most gross thing I had ever seen and couldn't imagine it in my house. Not to mention their snake cage was their television holder. I was very appalled when I went to pick him up.
Snakes persevere through hard times very well. It really takes a lot of kill a healthy snake. No excuses are good enough for neglect.
Additionally, if my heater broke in my house and I had no heat. My snakes would be my biggest concern. I would be at Walmart buying space heaters to replace the heat loss in the snake room and I would be checking the temperatures like crazy. Not to mention, each snake I own has his or her own heat source with a thermostat. So, even if the temperature accidentally dropped really low, the snake would be able to stay warm until I figured something out.
Just a warning to my pals.
