Please Help Me

[Peter Williams]

OK, i just tried feeding my bp and she squeezed the guts out and the bark got all over the mouse, and she got a big piece stuck in her mouth and she did the bp curl up trick and it was jutting out of her mouth and i tried to get to her head to get it out but she wasnt having it and she curled her tail around my finger and cut off the circulation, still hurts. Anyways i put her hide on her so shes attempt to get it out, and she did but i didnt see a wet piece of bark on the floor, there wasnt an obvious bulge in her, but it looked like she MAY have swallowed it. (this piece of bark is obviously smaller than a mouse, im just concerned whether or not she can digest it). anyone know if she can or not? and if she cant will she be smart enough to regurgitate it?

thank you, please respond asap

[tigerlily]

Ok, that was a bit difficult to understand. What I got out of that is that you fed your snake, and she managed to possibly swallow a piece of bark? How big was the piece of bark? Are we talking several inches or a chip that's an inch or smaller?

[lillyorchid]

Yes ball pythons do digest the bones from there food but wood is another thing. It can cause a back up. If that happens, you will see a "bulge" in their lower half and the snake won't be able to pass anything, *IF* that should happen, please do let the snake soak in some warm water and see if he can pass it that way. If not do contact a herp vet in your area who will be able to assist you and your snakes problem.

I do suggest getting ride of that bark and getting aspen bedding or Zoo Med's Eco-earth. Eco-Earth stuff actually states that it is not harmful if accidentally swallowed. It's a shredded coconut husk substrate that you just ad some water to. It's in a brick form.


Right now since you did not see the snake actually swallowed it. I would not stress out over it to bad. Give it a few weeks and see how your snake is doing with eating, drinking, acting, passing bodily fluids, and solids.

[Peter Williams]

ok thanks, she does seem ok now, just pissed we took the mouse away, id give her another but their frozen, i think to prevent this gut spillage im gonna have to switch to live

[AzureN1ght]

ok thanks, she does seem ok now, just pissed we took the mouse away, id give her another but their frozen, i think to prevent this gut spillage im gonna have to switch to live

It was suggested to me by the breeder I bought my BP from, to thaw out mice and warm them up on their backs--because the belly tissue is thin and thawing them out on their bellies/warming their bellies can cause exploding. Just a thought

[Peter Williams]

i warm them by dunking them in hot water, and i think ya thats rupturing the belly

[lillyorchid]

The belly exploding... happens to all of us who feed f/t from time to time. Just something that happens. I too have heard about thawing them out on their backs. I normally get them out of the freezer the night before and put how ever many I need in a babby in the refridge over night. The next morning I take them out and out of the bag and let them sit in my room and warm up to room temp. Then when I get home fro mwork or that evening... its feeding time.

[TheDude]

And I thought us live feeders had a rough job, i dont think i could deal with a bag of dead mice sittign on the counter for a day, lol. You all are hard core! :eek: