Did you know that snakes can fart? They can! — And they use it deliberately, for example: to escape danger.
Do you keep snakes? And have you ever been startled by a strange noise coming from your terrarium? That’s what happened to the owner of a ball python, as he described in the terrarium forum ‘Terraon.de’:
Can snakes fart?
https://www.terraon.de/forum/thread/26556-furzende-schlangen/
Last night I almost fell out of bed from shock. A noise came from my Terra that he had never made before. It was a resounding farting noise.
He did not receive any detailed answers to his question. But it has been known for a long time:
Snakes Don’t Just ‘Hiss Out The Front’
OK, that was admittedly terrible. But really: many snakes fart audibly and even visibly!
Here is some compelling video evidence:
As you can see from the videos: This is about deliberately and forcefully expelled air. But why?
Most researchers suspect that these loud farts serve as a deterrent and thus as a defence against danger. And indeed, these ‘snake flatulences’ are quite impressive!
So if your snake greets you by passing gas, it may well be that there is something she doesn’t like at all and you should perhaps consider whether the current situation is causing her stress.
#Doesitfart?
The question ‘can snakes fart’ was the starting point for a scientific investigation into which animals can actually fart. Posted on Twitter (now ‘X’) by a PhD student from London, the hashtag #doesitfart quickly gathered a ton of information on the flatulence-behaviour of all kinds of animals.
This initially resulted in a public list that reads wonderfully whimsically. Care for an example?
| Scientific Name | Does it fart? | Description | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Corn and rat snakes | Pantherophis spp. | Yes | “Often with defecation” |
| Milksnake | Lampropeltis triangulum | Yes | “Often with defecation and quite smelly” |
| Western hognose | Heterodon nasicus | Yes | “Powerful for the size with defecation and extremely foul smelling” |
| Burmese python | Python molurus | Yes | “Often silent but deadly. Thick, and…meaty? If it were a color it would be brownish-yellow.” |
| Copperhead | Agkistrodon contortrix | Yes | “Elicits a small squeak, so small that you think you may be mistaken…until it hits you. Very dry and feral, with a slight hint of stale Copperhead musk.” |
The overview later even resulted in a book, which is also available in German translation.
Normal Digestive Farting
In addition to deliberate ‘defensive farting’, snakes, like almost all animals, also have normal digestive flatulence. Who would have thought? However, if your snake’s digestion seems suspicious — or, above all, suspiciously ‘absent’ — then you should definitely take a closer look.
If there is a lot of farting with the excretions or, conversely, very little defecation, this may indicate gastrointestinal problems. Unfortunately, all terrarium reptiles can sometimes suffer from such problems. However, in the case of snakes, geckos, other lizards or iguanas, digestive and intestinal problems are more likely to result in constipation than flatulence.
Caution: Signs of Illness!
Blockages can occur if, for example, the environment is too cool or too dry and/or too little liquid is ingested (e.g. due to overly dry food) — but can also be due to (strong) parasite infestation. Ingested substrate can also lead to problems (incidentally, this is also a very common problem with axolotls). In rare cases, uric acid can also crystallise into stones in snakes, which can then no longer be excreted (see video below).
If one of your terrarium animals suffers from constipation, please take it seriously! Not only can it be painful for your pet, in the worst case it can lead to an intestinal blockage. Here is a good overview of the symptoms, causes and steps to take in the event of constipation or an intestinal blockage.