Is it common for a BP to get stuck when a prey item is in their stomach?

[Jcd5v]

So I just fed Apollo for the first time and he took it! He looked really confused that it was already dead (he was fed live), but he didn’t mind in the end. He hides in a pretty small hide I made with some rocks. Could he potentially get stuck bc of the prey item? Has anyone seen this happen? I’m hoping my prey item was appropriately sized. I fed the size the breeder said, but one of the rats in the package was double the other so they must not be very consistent. I am going to take him out to weigh him and then feed off of that but I wanted to make sure I got him to eat before handling. Also, he is in his cool hide. What is the optimal temperature for digestion? Can he fully digest on the cool side?


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[Luvyna]

Congrats on him taking the food!

I'm not sure if the prey item would cause him to get stuck but I definitely have seen BPs get stuck in hides or cage furniture that is too small, here is any example: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k9NClh7sz00

They will try to cram themselves into any small spaces so it's best to avoid keeping them with anything they can get stuck in.

Appropriately sized prey is around the width of the widest part of the snake's body, and 10-15% of its weight.

The hot spot temps should be 88-90F, cool side should be around 78-80F. As long as you have the temps right and identical, secure hides, BPs know what they need to digest and will switch back and forth as needed. Mine tends to spend the first day after eating in his cool hide, then switch to the warm for the second day.

[Sunnieskys]

Weigh your prey too. That way you know which to feed first.

congrats on the first FT prey.

[Jcd5v]

Congrats on him taking the food!

I'm not sure if the prey item would cause him to get stuck but I definitely have seen BPs get stuck in hides or cage furniture that is too small, here is any example: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k9NClh7sz00

They will try to cram themselves into any small spaces so it's best to avoid keeping them with anything they can get stuck in.

Appropriately sized prey is around the width of the widest part of the snake's body, and 10-15% of its weight.

The hot spot temps should be 88-90F, cool side should be around 78-80F. As long as you have the temps right and identical, secure hides, BPs know what they need to digest and will switch back and forth as needed. Mine tends to spend the first day after eating in his cool hide, then switch to the warm for the second day.

Yea I know what the temps should be I just didn’t know if they can digest on the cool side. He hasn’t gone into his hot side hide the whole time I’ve had him so I may need to change it out.


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[Jcd5v]

Weigh your prey too. That way you know which to feed first.

congrats on the first FT prey.

For future feedings I will be weighing both him and the rat. This feeding I just figured him eating was more important than being exact.

The rat was appropriately sized. I just freaked out a little bit because he head is so much smaller than the largest part of his body (I also haven’t seen him a lot so I wasn’t 100% sure if the rat was too big or not).


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[Treeman]

It is not common for them to get stuck after eating because with the appropriate sized meal, a ball python has only a very slightly larger girth.

Is your hide a tubular shape like in the video? That video is the exact reason I don’t like to use a hide with a tubular shape, unless its a very small snake. I much prefer something I can lift up off the snake, more like a cave than a tube.


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[Jcd5v]

It is not common for them to get stuck after eating because with the appropriate sized meal, a ball python has only a very slightly larger girth.

Is your hide a tubular shape like in the video? That video is the exact reason I don’t like to use a hide with a tubular shape, unless its a very small snake. I much prefer something I can lift up off the snake, more like a cave than a tube.


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No both of mine aww caves


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[Bogertophis]

The kind of thing that snakes can get "stuck" in are those cholla logs (hole in the middle) or anything made with a hole they can go thru where their middle
can get stuck* & they cannot back out because their directional scales catch, like with bird netting & some kinds of garden fencing outside. They shouldn't be
able to get stuck in a hide that is open on the bottom, since even if the doorway is tight, they'll just end up lifting the hide up over their body. You also want
to avoid using most things made for tropical fish to swim into, no matter how cool they look...like castles, etc.- because they often have dangerous tight spots
plus very sharp projections inside that don't bother swimming fish, but that would cut up a snake trying to wedge in there. Good question...