Please help. Bark lodged in BP throat

[hijacked]

I just fed my 130g BP. I fed her a live rat pup. Im using coconut chips for a substrate. I gave her some privacy to swallow her prey, I returned right after she finished, to put the lid back on her enclosure. She had a string of substrate hanging from her mouth, and i saw her struggling with it (she kept opening her mouth). I reached in and easily removed it from her mouth. She is not head shy at all.
She isnt settling, and i can see a lump on the bottom side of her throat. The lump is about 3/4" down her throat (behind her jaw).
I would post a picture, but i dont want to bother her until her food settles.
It looks like a piece of substrate is lodged in her throat?
I know everyone says this happens in the wild all of the time. But i dont think stomach acid will dissolve it this far up in her throat? Will she work this down into her stomach? will she regurgetate it? Do I need to intervene?
I just fed her 40 minutes ago. Im going to go to bed (I work night shift).
When i wake up in the morning, i hope it will be gone. If not, i hope you all will have some advice for me.
If its still there, I will take a picture.
I think im going to switch to aspen. This is stressful.
Thank you in advance.

[calmolly1]

If it was one of mine I'd be on the way to the vet


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[danthony428]

Thats one of the risks i've always been concerned with when it comes to bark. I use it myself. One of the main things is to make sure the mouse or rat is not wet, so it doesn't stick to it. Even then its always a risk.

As for a snake with a piece already lodged in its throat, I agree with calmolly1, i'd be on my way to the vet if it were my snake. If you're willing to risk waiting, i'd just keep a very close eye on that.

Even if the snake does get it down somehow, theres a chance he will become impacted once it reaches the other end.

[hijacked]

Thank you for the replies. I have good news, she got it down. Im sure she will be fine.

[MontyAndMelissa]

I had this problem with Monty, my suggestion is once she is okay to be handled switch her to a different substrate. Also, I feed live, I use a pair of tongs, grab the mouse by the tail and dangle him into the tank. It takes a little bit of time to get used to, but it works wonders.

[KMG]

I had this problem with Monty, my suggestion is once she is okay to be handled switch her to a different substrate. Also, I feed live, I use a pair of tongs, grab the mouse by the tail and dangle him into the tank. It takes a little bit of time to get used to, but it works wonders.

Switch to what?

What works wonders?

You are not fully explaining yourself and while you know exactly what you mean it is not clear to the users on the other end reading it.

From my guess you don't use a natural substrate any longer. The natural substrates are ideal in some situations and is safe to use. Search the forum and see what you come up with on people having problems with impaction.

Then I don't know if you are recommending feeding live or dangling from the tail. Feeding live again is right is certain circumstances and with certain snakes but many people that have larger collections that don't breed feeders find it much easier to use f/t.

If you meant dangle from the tail Im in agreement with you there. Most of my snakes take them off tongs the same way.

[MontyAndMelissa]

Switch to what?

What works wonders?

You are not fully explaining yourself and while you know exactly what you mean it is not clear to the users on the other end reading it.

From my guess you don't use a natural substrate any longer. The natural substrates are ideal in some situations and is safe to use. Search the forum and see what you come up with on people having problems with impaction.

Then I don't know if you are recommending feeding live or dangling from the tail. Feeding live again is right is certain circumstances and with certain snakes but many people that have larger collections that don't breed feeders find it much easier to use f/t.

If you meant dangle from the tail Im in agreement with you there. Most of my snakes take them off tongs the same way.

I apologize for not explaining myself better, its been a long day.

I am currently using natural shredded substrate (I don't remember exactly what its made of, but its ball python safe. I think it might be coconut shred?) Its easier for the snake to swallow IF it gets in their mouth, and also easier to digest because its smaller bits. Since I started using tongs, he hasn't gotten much substrate in his mouth, and if he has, he passed it in his next evacuation)

I feed live and dangle from the tail. Monty was a rescue and refuses f/t. I've tried every way there is, and the only thing he eats is live. We had the issue with him getting substrate in his mouth when we were using bark (he usually got it out on his own), but it gave me anxiety so I talked to a specialist about the best way to go, and the combination of those two things is what he suggested, and it has worked wonders

Hope that helps.

[KMG]

I apologize for not explaining myself better, its been a long day.

I am currently using natural shredded substrate (I don't remember exactly what its made of, but its ball python safe. I think it might be coconut shred?) Its easier for the snake to swallow IF it gets in their mouth, and also easier to digest because its smaller bits. Since I started using tongs, he hasn't gotten much substrate in his mouth, and if he has, he passed it in his next evacuation)

I feed live and dangle from the tail. Monty was a rescue and refuses f/t. I've tried every way there is, and the only thing he eats is live. We had the issue with him getting substrate in his mouth when we were using bark (he usually got it out on his own), but it gave me anxiety so I talked to a specialist about the best way to go, and the combination of those two things is what he suggested, and it has worked wonders

Hope that helps.

Much better.

[xXBASSXx777]

I just fed my 130g BP. I fed her a live rat pup. Im using coconut chips for a substrate. I gave her some privacy to swallow her prey, I returned right after she finished, to put the lid back on her enclosure. She had a string of substrate hanging from her mouth, and i saw her struggling with it (she kept opening her mouth). I reached in and easily removed it from her mouth. She is not head shy at all.
She isnt settling, and i can see a lump on the bottom side of her throat. The lump is about 3/4" down her throat (behind her jaw).
I would post a picture, but i dont want to bother her until her food settles.
It looks like a piece of substrate is lodged in her throat?
I know everyone says this happens in the wild all of the time. But i dont think stomach acid will dissolve it this far up in her throat? Will she work this down into her stomach? will she regurgetate it? Do I need to intervene?
I just fed her 40 minutes ago. Im going to go to bed (I work night shift).
When i wake up in the morning, i hope it will be gone. If not, i hope you all will have some advice for me.
If its still there, I will take a picture.
I think im going to switch to aspen. This is stressful.
Thank you in advance.

I would of also been on my way to the vet. As far as switching..... this is not necessary if you lay paper towel over the substrate before feeding. (this could and in my opinion should be done even if you do switch). tong feeding is how I do it.

[Benji1987]

I don't suffer with that problem as use paper towels, sometimes use aspen. Think snakes in the wild. They must take in a hell of a lot of there natural surrounds
I think you'll be fine


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