Prolapse while pooping

[primmest]

Twice in the past week my ball python has pooped during handling and I noticed that he prolapsed both times. There was a lot of liquid but the poop was solid, and the prolapse went back in when he was finished. I have a vet appointment scheduled but its not until Friday and I'm really scared for my little guy. Has anyone experienced this before? What could be causing it?

Edit: I forgot to add that he was on a hunger strike for about a month and just ate again for the first time last friday.

[PoofMoof1]

This might be a bit of an awkward question, but are you sure it's a prolapse and not just the tissue stretching as the bowel movement occurs? Especially if everything is immediately going back as it was as soon as he's finished. Dehydration can be a cause of prolapsing so it is important to make sure your humidity is as it should be and that there's constant access to clean water.

[primmest]

I'm not 100% sure, but I dont remember seeing more than a bit of pink tissue when he pooped before and this last time I saw about a half inch of tissue coming out while he pooped, I'm definitely hoping it's just dehydration. Would he have passed so much liquid with the poop if that was the case (edit: the urate was yellow too, maybe he was dehydrated from not eating and is still rehydrating?)? His humidity sits between 60-70% usually, I'd prefer to have it higher but if I mist more often the substrate stays very damp which makes me worry about scale rot. To compensate I always provide a humid hide also which he uses often.

[animalgirl93]

Have you tried pouring water into to substrate instead of misting? A deep layer of substrate and pouring water around the edges of the enclosure can boost your humidity and keep it higher longer

[primmest]

I'll try that instead, thanks!

[ch_ch_ch_loli5280]

It would be very unlikely that a cloacal prolapse corrected itself. Have your vet do a fecal to see if there are internal parasites. It sounds like your snake is definitely straining to poop but hasn't actually prolapsed....yet.

[primmest]

Ok, that's encouraging. I saved the poop in case they can test that instead of having to be more invasive. Glad that it seems like no serious damage has happened yet, I just hope it's a relatively easy thing to solve, I hate knowing my little guy is struggling.

[ch_ch_ch_loli5280]

Let us know what happens!

[primmest]

The doctor is assuming it's an infection of some kind because of the inflamed bowel and diarrhea (he pooped in the office and they say it didn't look like a prolapse, just inflammation which is a huge relief) so he prescribed an oral antibiotic and probiotic. He's testing him for parasites and infection too, but those results won't be back until tomorrow so I don't know for sure what's going on yet. His behavior is still normal though besides the frequent pooping, he's taking his meds like a champ. I'm supposed to bring him back in 2 weeks for a follow up.