Advice Needed - Possible serious situation.

[Stealth]

Hay guys,

So long story short I had to do a quick substrate change today, and was unable to get my usual cocohusk, so I opted for a corncob substrate that I was told will be fine until they get more stock of the cocohusk.

Everything seems fine, but while feeding tonight a TON of the substrate got stuck to the feeder and my girl swallowed every last piece of it :/ It seems very absorbant so I'm worried it causes an impaction, is there anything I can do to avoid that? I want to make sure I act quickly to prevent any discomfort she may have.

Thanks in advance!

P.S, I will be getting my normal cocohusk in the next few days and swapping her over again.

[Sunnieskys]

They digest dirt and other ground stuff in the wild. I just either wouldn't feed again on that substrate or put paper down under the meal so no substrate.

[bcr229]

Should be fine. Corn cob bedding is 100% fiber so while it will absorb/expand when it gets wet, I think it will digest and break down pretty quickly in a snake's stomach; certainly faster than the rodent's larger bones do.

[Bogertophis]

I've never used the stuff so I cannot say first-hand, but I seem to recall reading about someone having an issue with it causing an impaction in a snake.

The thing about fiber- snakes have evolved digestive enzymes primarily for what they eat (protein & fat), so while they may ingest some plant fiber (twigs etc)
along with their meals, I don't think they can digest it (& cannot convert to being vegetarians). It's best to avoid letting them ingest substrate of this kind, but
it's done now...I hope you'll let us know the "rest of the story".

Another substrate they've promoted for reptiles is ground walnut shells, but that has caused internal damage because of the very sharp tiny pieces that likewise
cannot be ingested & can cause cuts internally.

BTW, how big is your snake & what size prey was fed? I ask because bigger rats with more fur* (also not well digested*) will probably help push it out.
I hope everything "comes out alright".

[Stealth]

Thanks for the responses! The corncob was definitely not my first choice but sadly was the last of the remaining stock and I really didn't want her sitting in her mess for another week!

She is about 350grams and sadly this week it was a smaller feeder than usual. I know this substrate absorbs a ton of moisture so hopefully she passes it without issue.

She'll be back on cocohusk soon which I keep my entire collection on without any issues - It looked absolutely horrible when her mouth was covered in the dry corncob. It looked like she had cotton mouth and was begging for water xD

I increased her humidity tonight and gave her more water than usual in her bowl, hopefully she soaks for abit and gets some fluid in her to help in move right through.