OH NO! help please possible impaction

[zennygirl]

okay i'm stupid and i'm kicking myself now because i have loose substrate but my bp would never eat outside of his enclosure, he always wierded out by a new space. so i usually push all his substrate to one side and then feed him and watch the whole time and it's always worked out fine. well this time for whatever reason he thrashed the dead rat around the enclosure for a while when he was trying to work it down and he dunked it in his water bowl and thrashed it around somemore. well in this process the rat got sustrate (fir bark) stuck to it and then when he finished swallowing the rat i could see he ate a few pieces of the bark, not big chunks, but a decent amount of shreds (maybe 1/2 a teaspoon worth) now i want to cry because i'm worried he'll get impacted. so, aside from refusing food what else should i look for, and or should i do anything else in the mean time. i'm not expecting him to poop anytime soon because he just did a good size one a few days ago so i can't really gauge by that. i'm really really worried and will never feed on loose substrate again but if there is a problem can you guys tell me that i'm not yet doomed to lose my snake. (btw he is 4yrsold)
thanks.

[Tray]

Back before I switched to paper towels for substrate (so much easier to clean), I would use aspen shavings. One day my BP ingested a good amount during a less the routine feeding. Fortunately for me nothing in his behavior or health changed.

I had him checked out by a vet about a month later (regular check up), and everything seemed fine.

I think what saved me was that aspen shavings are relatively thin, and he pooped it out like usual. Fir bark though, I'm not sure how thick it is.

If you have a vet with experience in herps, I'd call him / her and see what they reccomend.

[Marla]

Probably not much to do at this point but watch and wait, but I'd suggest in the future you lay a piece of newspaper or a couple paper towels down on top of your substrate to prevent a repeat of this. Good luck, I hope he's all right.

[led4urhead]

Definitely keep an eye on him for a while. He may be able to pass it depending on how much and the size of the pcs he ingested. If he looks like he's not doing well ... a trip to the vet might be in order. Good luck with him.

[elevatethis]

I look at it like this...as long as it wasn't a huge piece of bark...acids in the snake's digestive tract can dissolve solid bones in a realtively short period of time. I would think that a small piece of bark would be no match for those acids either. Just a thought though. Most of the impactation issues and cases I've read about involve already digested feces getting backed up somewhere after the stomach. I think your snake will be fine.

[Marla]

Some loose substrates -- such as corn cob bedding -- are not at all broken down by the snake's digestive processes. I don't claim to know which are affected and which are not other than that and sand, which is also non-digestible, but please don't count on loose substrates being digestible.

[padiente]

The fibers that make up most of wood and bark is cellulose, this is similar, if not the same, to the stuff that makes up crab or lobster shells. This is generally an undigestable substance, it it the same stiff that is in the ribs on celery. We cannot digest it and neither can the snake. If we eat too much we wil get impacted, as will the snake, otherwise we pass it.

[zennygirl]

thanks everyone, i will watch him very closely for any differences. we also have a very reputable herp vet in my area so i have options. i'm still very worried tho. also, not sue if this matters-but a few weeks ago he decided he liked his cool side alot better, and always goes in that hide, even to digest. will not laying on his warm side, be a hinderance in him passing that bark out??

[Brandon.O]

i would start getting his used to feeding in another tank, my guy didnt want to eat in the feeding tank either and rufused a meal a few times but i just thought to myslef " hey rocky if your hungry you will eat...right?" and now he eats in the feeding tank all the time with no prob at all...either that or switch substrate to somthing like reptile carpet or paper towles.

[zennygirl]

definitely, i still have the feeding tank he refused a long time ago. probably because when i was trying it he was still new to me and a picky eater. now he eats f/t great for me with no problem every week. i'm just worried to try now since i am monitoring his habits so closely for the impaction. if i tried the feeding tank next week, i wouldn't know if he wasn't eating due to the tank, or a possible impaction problem. so maybe i'll just switch the substrate out for now, and implement the feeding tank later when i discover he's alright. thanks again.