Pinky mouse stuck just past head-3 days now.

I am trying to take care of my daughter's 5 month-old BP while she is away. It is about 12". (really small). It took a frozen pinky mouse that I had warmed in a glass of warm water for 20 minutes. It (I say "it", I don't know what sex it is.)...It swallowed the mouse just to about 1" down past it's head. (the snake's, not the mouse's head) and has been stuck there for 3 days now. The poor thing seems like it is breathing OK, but it just can't seem to get the mouse down any further.

I checked once and it was face up in the corner of the tank like it was trying to get gravity to work it down. Another time I checked, it was sitting in it's water bowl with it's head out of the water and it's mouth open. It's not swallowing nor regurgitating.

Is this an emergency situation? 3 days seems awful long. It never had this trouble before. I really like this Python, and my daughter loves it. She would be heartbroken if something were to happen to it.

Worried,
Jetplane

I've never heard of a feeder getting stuck in the throat :confusd:

can you gently massage it down?
are you positive it's stuck in the throat?

A pinky mouse is MUCH too small a prey item. I bet the mouse is stuck in the throat and snake can't get it to go down right (why...I'm not too sure). I've not had this problem and I'm not sure what to tell you except try to call a herp vet and ask what they would do and if you need to bring the snake in. I bet that mouse is already decaying and if the snake eats it, then it will probably make the snake sick and cause it to regurg.

Take the snake to the vet asap... Pinkies are way too small for the snake. They should be eating 10-15% of their body weight so you're going to have to weigh the snake. Again please take the snake to the vet as soon as possible. 3 days is way too long to wait.

VET visit ASAP to get it removed or pushed down to the belly. And you need to read a few Ball Python care guides and learn what an appropriate sized meal is. Your snake is severely underfed. Frozen pinkies are too small of a meal even for a newborn BP. At 4 months old my snakes are right at 2 feet long and probably 3 times the girth of yours.

Feed it something bigger to push it on down. Jk. Take it to the vet.

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Feed it something bigger to push it on down. Jk. Take it to the vet.

I really want to see a picture of that:confusd::confusd:

Are you sure it's the mouse and not possibly a piece of bark or something that you use as substraint? Either way, he needs a vet and a scope to pull it out. If its the mouse, it's decaying by now and could be bad if not removed ASAP.


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Originally Posted by PitOnTheProwl

I really want to see a picture of that:confusd::confusd:

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X2, I think a picture would be helpful.

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Originally Posted by cschneider

Are you sure it's the mouse and not possibly a piece of bark or something that you use as substraint? Either way, he needs a vet and a scope to pull it out. If its the mouse, it's decaying by now and could be bad if not removed ASAP.


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2 good points

That poor snake:( in case you need help finding a vet:

http://www.anapsid.org/vets/

http://www.herpvetconnection.com/

http://www.reptilechannel.com/reptil...t-listing.aspx

my daughter loves her snakes very much and I know she would be heartbroken if something happened to one of them.

i hope your able to find a herp vet and get the snake in quickly.

I am going to try to massage it down. I called a vet and they informed me that it would be $79 just to look at it, and any action taken would be more. I just don't have the money. I will try to get a picture up. Thanks for all the replies and advice everyone.

Only problem with guiding it Down is there is a good chance that pinky has started to decay that's not gonna be too great on the snake if something been stuck should go into vet

Thanks for all your advice, but just went and checked and the snake had passed. Now to tell my daughter.

Sorry man

Sad to hear. Sorry it was too late to save her. I hope your little girl wont be to broken up, and that you learned something from this endeavor.

Thanks SnakeGuy,
I should have done more research before taking on this responsibility. I thought pinkies were an appropriate size. I had fuzzies in the freezer that I probably should have been feeding him, but they just seemed too large to me. We were wondering why he just wouldn't grow. Now, I believe it was because we were feeding him too small of a prey. Also, regulating temps and humidity were an issue because we skimped on quality indicator equipment. (cheap stick-on thermometer/hydrom). He probably was dehydrated as well. I shouldn't have gotten into it if I didn't have the financial level to give quality care.

My ignorance was the cause of the demise of a beautiful baby and I feel terrible.

I know it probably doesn't feel like a consolation right now, but if you can admit that, you are far ahead of a lot of people. I am sorry for your loss, and extra sorry that you had to learn this lesson the hard way. I hope your daughter handles it alright.

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Originally Posted by Jetplane

Thanks SnakeGuy,
I should have done more research before taking on this responsibility. I thought pinkies were an appropriate size. I had fuzzies in the freezer that I probably should have been feeding him, but they just seemed too large to me. We were wondering why he just wouldn't grow. Now, I believe it was because we were feeding him too small of a prey. Also, regulating temps and humidity were an issue because we skimped on quality indicator equipment. (cheap stick-on thermometer/hydrom). He probably was dehydrated as well. I shouldn't have gotten into it if I didn't have the financial level to give quality care.

My ignorance was the cause of the demise of a beautiful baby and I feel terrible.

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This is something I think alot of people either wouldn't admit or are just too proud to say.. Sorry for your loss my friend I'm sure moving forward if you do you will do much better :)

I'm not trying to be cold hearted or the bad guy BUT we all have to learn some were and some how.
Now you know what to do right for the next one.