Help! Snake fell!!

Ok, so please don't reprimand me I already feel horrible, but I was transferring my year and half old ball python back to her tank from her feeding tank when my son fell/dropped something in the other room and it made me jerk/jump while i was putting her back. She proceeded to 'half-fall' into the tank but part of her landed on the lip of the tank. I was able to pick her back up and gently put her all her in. Anyway, normally I would have picked her up and checked her out if such an incident had occurred, but since she just ate I was hesitant to. She was moving around fine (except quicker than usual, i think it freaked her out a bit) and is now hanging out in her hide acting pretty normal. Usually she moves around a bit more, but she did just eat and I think she is just de-stressing. Has anyone had a similar incident? Is she hurt? Should I bring her to the vet? Before she went in her hide I was looking closely at her and she doesn't seem to have any kinks or look like anything is broken? I just don't know what to do, i feel so horrible :tears:

This happened o me with a corn snake, it was really scary but the snake was okay. If anything is wrong it would take a few days to show signs of internal bleeding or other damage. After she digests some, take her out and feel her sides to see if there is anything unusual. She is probably fine.

Snakes are pretty resilient, and have good layers of muscle. Odds are you didn't seriously hurt her. Check on her every so often for the next few days just to make sure she's acting normal, but I think she'll be fine. :) After her 48-hour digestion period, take her out and let her run through your hands, putting mild pressure on her body. If she doesn't jerk back (like she was in pain) or act like any spot hurts, then there shouldn't be any reason to worry.

I would have to agree with Chloe. I'm sure it's scary, and you feel terrible but she's probably ok just keep an eye on her for the next few days.

Thanks guys, I feel much better, still bad but not horrible. She's my first snake so I'm a bit new to it all :) I will definitely keep an eye on her and check her after 48 hrs.

In the future I'd recommend just feeding her in her regular enclosure. There's absolutely no need for a separate feeding enclosure.

Yeah, I've been told many different things, but I'm trying to transition her off of live feeds right now and i don't want them peeing everywhere in here regular enclosure. But feeding with tongs in her regular enclosure is ok right? I mean do you have experience with that?

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Originally Posted by BarbieBatwings

Yeah, I've been told many different things, but I'm trying to transition her off of live feeds right now and i don't want them peeing everywhere in here regular enclosure. But feeding with tongs in her regular enclosure is ok right? I mean do you have experience with that?

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Absolutely. My Ball had a thing where she wouldn't swallow the prey if it had bedding on it; if this is something that pops up or you're afraid of them eating bedding, just place down paper towels and move your BP on to them, then feed. My girl actually got to the point where if I put a paper towel down anywhere in her tank, she'd go and sit on it herself, expecting food. :P

Ehh reminds me of those snakes that climb trees...many times they eventually drop down to the ground...i couldn't imagine climbing down a tree with no arms or legs haha!

Balls are really good at falling any distance up to their own body length. Landing on the lip of the tank maybe could hurt them, but it doesn't sound like she feel that far, and it sounds like she was only a bit startled.

Give her a day off and watch for a regurgitation. If the food stays down, you can assume she's fine.

If she hisses at you the next several times you pick her up, then she probably did get a little hurt or scared by the fall. (I had an enchi fall off from around my shoulders when she was a baby. She hissed at me for two or three years afterwards.) It's okay to handle a snake that hisses when you pick them up, but it does mean that she's (understandably) worried about being dropped again. It takes a while to rebuild trust.

No hissing = no trauma.