Need help to figure this out!

Alright guys, I want to hear your thoughts on this one.

I have an albino pied ball python who is about 3 months old. He has been a bit finicky with eating since I got him, but nothing that a switch of mouse to rat didn't fix. Temps are good and humidity is in check, I have 2 other bp's running on the same temps/bedding/etc. who are totally normal and eat like champs. Anyway, last time I fed him was about a week ago I saw that he had a piece of forest floor bedding stuck in his mouth after swallowing the food, so I removed that after he finished with the rat, but since then everything has been normal. That is until today when I attempted to feed. He immediately responded to the food and went up to it but didn't take the bait. Eventually he started to move his mouth while directly in front of the mouse, almost like he was realigning his jaw, except it was a bit wider than normal. After he tried this a few times I decided to put the mouse up to his mouth just to see what he would do, and he immediately curled around it as if he struck it himself and eventually ate it. I am wondering if anyone has had this experience or if they knew what may be going on. Thanks for your help :snake:

Not seeing your snake puts us at a disadvantage to be of help...but it sounds possible that his mouth is sore, maybe even an infection from the "stuck bedding incident"?
You (or a herp vet) may need to have a look inside his mouth & treat if needed. You say his jaw is "a bit wider than normal"...that suggests it's swollen, so yeah, that's
a problem. You're lucky he's still eating but may not be for long, especially if it gets worse. (sorry, my "crystal ball" is on the fritz...;) )

Sorry to hear about your snake, that’s the worst feeling :( I do want to say though that I may have misspoke. He looks the same, the “wider” motion i was referring to was that he opened his mouth wider than he would when simply correcting it. He has not done this before the feeding though, which makes me think that it may not be pain related. Thank you for your help!

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Originally Posted by beep

Sorry to hear about your snake, that’s the worst feeling :( I do want to say though that I may have misspoke. He looks the same, the “wider” motion i was referring to was that he opened his mouth wider than he would when simply correcting it. He has not done this before the feeding though, which makes me think that it may not be pain related. Thank you for your help!

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All 19 of my snakes are fine, thanks...I think you misunderstood me, lol.

sounds like has stuck food/substrate in his mouth, like Bogertophis said you or a herp vet might want to check his mouth for anything out of the ordinary.

I switched to newspaper that way i can spot mites if there ever had to be any , its perfect for my humidity conditions where i live as our humidity is almost 80% year round , easy to completely clean right away and best of all no dust and no swallowed substrate.

Keep an eye for open mouth like symptoms and any swelling as well.

Best of luck!