My ball python ate substrate | help!!

​Ijust fed my ball python her first small rat tonight. It took her a while to swallow the prey in her hide but when I looked in the cage she had 3 or 4 pieces of small cypress mulch in her mouth. They looked like they might damage her and I got nervous. Am I just worried or should I take her to a vet?

It's not a problem! They digest it easily, as long as your temps and husbandry are on point.

Mine eat substrate every meal- I don't even watch them eat anymore LOL.

Thanks for the help I can sleep with a clear conscience

This is a controversial topic .... Whe I started I was told to place card / cardboard down first and feed over the top of the card - just to avoid any swallowing / ingestion of the substrate as it can supposedly lead to impaction .
That's what I've done for years with no issues .

Maybe it depends on the type / size of the snake /substrate and how much they swallow . I've seen odd pieces occasionally stuck to the rat when they're munching on it and I've pulled the bark off with tongs .

It will be intersecting to see what the others think.

Some snakes will never see anything like apsen or bark chippings in the wild like sand boas maybe ...


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Mine has eaten a few pieces of reptichip/coco fibers. Havent had any issues.

Mine has ate a ton.....well I'm not gonna say a ton..a lot of aspen, back when I used it. Even though I would place the rat on a paper towel he always managed to eat a bit of the aspen. Now I use newspaper, so I don't worry about him eating bedding anymore.

Like redshepherd said, as long as your temps are good, your snake should have no problem passing it.

Our guy likes to 'season' his rat with eco earth dragging it around before eating both... no issues.

Nothing to worry about. They digest bone and fur. Nobody cleans their food in the wild.

All above comments may well be true but I'd guess digesting bone maybe different to digesting wood chips !?

Can't see that many Sand boas , for example, will ever come across wood bark in the wild so why would their digestive system be able to cope with it ?!

Not being awkward here , just intrigued ..


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My snakes will occasionally digest a bit of substrate when they eat and I've never had any issues.