My BP tried to kill himself...

I have never seen such a display but needless to say its something I never want to see again.

It was feeding time and all fed just fine except one, my 800gm jigsaw missed his prey and struck himself.

He bit his body about half way and proceeded to wrap his coils around his head and body. Half his little reptilian brain was struggling to get free while the other half was seemingly constricting against the perceived prey. The result was the tightest mass of ball python I could ever imagine. He was rolling and fighting and looked in distress.

I took him out of the enclosure And I was able unravel him until I got to his mouth that had full purchase on his midsection. Fortunately I was able to put gentle pressure on the base of his jaws to give just enough room to slide a tongue depressor beneath his top jaw and his body. I broke the depressor in half and then used the other half to get between the bottom jaw.

Once free of himself and the depressors I put him into his tub and reflected on what happened.

Did I do the right thing? Did I cause unnecessary stress? Could I have injured him? Would he have been better If he'd been left alone. I know I just reacted to the situation the best way I could have but maybe I over reacted. He seems fine now and is actively looking for that one that got away. I just don't know if I should have responded differently.

I'm sure it happens in the wild and he would figure out that he did not have what he thought he had eventually and go on about his way. In this video they use listerine to get the snake to stop biting the keeper. I would try that next time, if there is one. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=21UBSL_nV_Y

I would have done what you did Wizard.


Molly & Steve
0.1 normal BP 'Precioucess'
0.1 BCI 'Luna'

It is a sad truth that some of our pets are about as sharp as a marble. :oops:

I would have done the same in your situation.

that would be horrifying to see. How is the snake doing?

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Originally Posted by BPSnakeLady

that would be horrifying to see. How is the snake doing?

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Doing fine, thanks for asking. :)

He ate this morning and is resting comfortably in his hide on the warm side.

Oh good! Poor guy!

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Viol8r

I'm sure it happens in the wild and he would figure out that he did not have what he thought he had eventually and go on about his way. In this video they use listerine to get the snake to stop biting the keeper. I would try that next time, if there is one. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=21UBSL_nV_Y

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Vinegar also works if you don't have Listerine on hand. Just a few drops on a cotton ball waved in front of the snake's nose is usually enough to do the trick.

I've heard others say that vodka also works, but IMO that should be reserved for the keeper's use after the incident.

Our 4 foot female gets all excited when she knows it's feeding time; more then once she's lost track of her back end and turned around and bit herself. She's never coiled around herself; she'll just bite herself then let go. Sometimes she does it more then once then looks at me like "what happened?":O

http://ball-pythons.net/forums/showt...-that-statment