BP wants more rats

She did make a squeaking noise a few times while eating last night. She had dropped it after wrapping, then picked it up the wrong way, dropped it again, and finally taken it by the head when re-offered. It sounded like a hard exhale around the blockage of the food. She got it down ok and otherwise acted normal. I didn't think the rat was particularly big, but I haven't seen symptoms of breathing issues at other times. She also stayed kind of vertical and squeaked a few times with a bunch of substrate in her mouth after the rat had gone down.

I wonder if I should try to reduce the amount of substrate sticking to her rats. I didn't think feeding on a plate would work too well since she always drags the rat around after grabbing.

Edit: This was also the first time I fed her without the lid of the enclosure (since temps/humidity were high in the whole room.) I had previously noticed the low ceiling limit how vertical she could go while swallowing the rat, so maybe not having the lid just meant she exerted herself by going higher?

Snakes do weird things sometimes. I try not to draw conclusions from a single instance. Keep an eye on it. If it repeats, then consider doing something about it.

What is the substrate? Is the rat wet? Making sure those two issues are not a problem would probably minimize the substrate ingestion risk.

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Originally Posted by Malum Argenteum

What is the substrate? Is the rat wet? Making sure those two issues are not a problem would probably minimize the substrate ingestion risk.

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Coconut fiber, rat is wet. Definitely a fair bit of it sticks to the rat. I hadn't been drying the rat because it was easier and neater not to do so, and I'd read elsewhere on this forum that it doesn't matter if the snake eats some substrate.

Just to clarify on the coco fiber, you mean fine like the dirt? That's usually not too big of a worry since it is such small bits. Still nice to try and reduce it if the rat is wet just so it doesn't irritate too much.
If it was a large number of chunks of coco chip I would worry a bit and try to cut back on how much they swallow.

I've had a couple snakes just sit and take some big breaths after they eat. They're usually the ones that really seem to work at it. Some of my slower eaters have no trouble with it. I do try to keep my feeders dry though when reheating them. Some of mine get fussy if they don't smell enough. lol, so they're in freezer bags while in the spa

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Originally Posted by Armiyana

Just to clarify on the coco fiber, you mean fine like the dirt? That's usually not too big of a worry since it is such small bits. Still nice to try and reduce it if the rat is wet just so it doesn't irritate too much.
If it was a large number of chunks of coco chip I would worry a bit and try to cut back on how much they swallow.

I've had a couple snakes just sit and take some big breaths after they eat. They're usually the ones that really seem to work at it. Some of my slower eaters have no trouble with it. I do try to keep my feeders dry though when reheating them. Some of mine get fussy if they don't smell enough. lol, so they're in freezer bags while in the spa

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Yeah, it's fine stuff, no chips. I suppose it wouldn't be hard for me to start putting the rats in ziplock bags for thawing, I just didn't want to deal with air in there making the thaws inconsistent. This snake isn't picky about the smell, although I have seen her become more animated immediately after the few times I've pinched rat nose.

I would very strongly recommend against coco fiber. The fact that it is small bits seems, anecdotally, not to matter regarding a blockage risk. Coco chip doesn't tend to stick to rodents, and is a good option in my opinion (it is what I use for all snakes that need a moisture tolerant substrate). Coco chip can be purchased in different sizes, and these sizes can be chosen in part on whether the snake is likely to ingest that size chunk.

Thawing the rat out in the air at a warm room temp works well for me for thawing scores of rodents weekly. I put mine on top of enclosure lights to speed things up, but room temp is fine. Some snakes may demand some particular thawing/warming procedure, but if that's not necessary then simply leaving it out to thaw would be my choice.

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Originally Posted by Malum Argenteum

I would very strongly recommend against coco fiber. The fact that it is small bits seems, anecdotally, not to matter regarding a blockage risk. Coco chip doesn't tend to stick to rodents, and is a good option in my opinion (it is what I use for all snakes that need a moisture tolerant substrate). Coco chip can be purchased in different sizes, and these sizes can be chosen in part on whether the snake is likely to ingest that size chunk.

Thawing the rat out in the air at a warm room temp works well for me for thawing scores of rodents weekly. I put mine on top of enclosure lights to speed things up, but room temp is fine. Some snakes may demand some particular thawing/warming procedure, but if that's not necessary then simply leaving it out to thaw would be my choice.

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Interesting. I hate to abandon coconut fiber when I have quite a large supply on hand, but if others concur it's risky I'll switch. I'll start thawing in bags anyways, it'll make things neater overall. Winter is the only time I even need my substrate to keep humidity up, aside from that it just needs to absorb some urine. Paper towels were a pain because they spread the urine over a large part of the enclosure. If I were to switch to chunks, what size do you recommend? Is there a different substrate I could use during high humidity months when I don't need it to hold moisture?

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Originally Posted by Malum Argenteum

I would very strongly recommend against coco fiber. The fact that it is small bits seems, anecdotally, not to matter regarding a blockage risk. Coco chip doesn't tend to stick to rodents, and is a good option in my opinion (it is what I use for all snakes that need a moisture tolerant substrate). Coco chip can be purchased in different sizes, and these sizes can be chosen in part on whether the snake is likely to ingest that size chunk.

Thawing the rat out in the air at a warm room temp works well for me for thawing scores of rodents weekly. I put mine on top of enclosure lights to speed things up, but room temp is fine. Some snakes may demand some particular thawing/warming procedure, but if that's not necessary then simply leaving it out to thaw would be my choice.

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Thats how I thaw out the frozen rodents ..

Have you tried the hairdryer method for actually feeding , incidentally ??


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Originally Posted by Zincubus

Have you tried the hairdryer method for actually feeding , incidentally ??

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I have not, but I don't have any snakes that are fussy specifically about prey temps.

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Originally Posted by Gobuchul

If I were to switch to chunks, what size do you recommend? Is there a different substrate I could use during high humidity months when I don't need it to hold moisture?

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For a BP with any size to it, I would (and I do) personally use the regular size of ReptiChip. That brand offers smaller sizes that are useful for smaller snakes, but the regular size would be best I think. There are other brands too, but the couple others I've tried I didn't think were as good (too big, too hard of chips -- might be more suitable for large snake species, which I don't keep).

I would just use that substrate all the time, unless there's some pressing reason not to.