Lower jaw injury during feeding?

[loonunit]

While feeding my 2012 yearlings this evening, I noticed the pied was thrashing around a lot. He kept curling up and rolling around, like he was trying to constrict the rat. But he'd already half swallowed it. And his lower jaw looked kinda strange--the right side was INSIDE his mouth, like he was trying to swallow his lower lip at the same time as his prey.

Afterwards he seemed okay. It took him a minute to get his lower jaw back into shape, but then he started tongue-flicking as usual.

The rat was a weaned rat, which he's eaten several times before.

Is this normal? I admit I don't usually watch them while they eat. But I've watched them enough, and I've never seen that before. Do I need to reduce the prey size for the pied, or take him to the vet for an X-ray?

(Meanwhile a 2012 pastel male was in the tub next to him, sedately eating a one-size larger rat with no problems. HE was the one I was worried about, because that's the size rat I feed my adults, and that was the first time he'd eaten one that big.)

[decensored]

If his jaw set it'self again, and he doesn't seem to be in distress I wouldn't worry - he may have been struggling with the prey size. What is his weight?

Sounds like he's okay to me but keep an eye on him and if you notice any strange behaviour or any more issues arise than it may be time to consider an injury but ATM it doesn't sound like anything to worry about.

[loonunit]

Well, with a belly full of weaned rat, he's 290 grams. Huh, he's smaller than I thought. His sister is already 575 grams.

Maybe I'll move him back down to jumbo mice next week and see how that goes.

[decensored]

Yeah it was too big for him - If you have him on rats I wouldn't bother switching him back to jumbo mice, a rat pup would be fine for him

[loonunit]

Okay, I feed Big Cheese frozen, and their weaned rats are supposedly 35-50 grams. But maybe he got a big one. He doesn't have the "swallowed a football" look, but you can definitely see the rat.

[Badgemash]

I have two leftover frozen rat pinkies, if you want them you can have them, just let me know. Glad he fixed his little face himself though.