Bad Feeding Day

[deminon]

when i went to feed my BP today everything just kinda fell apart. First i put the mouse in there (i do feed live) and my bp watches it for a min then at the worst moment strikes the mouse and grabs it by the tail. Well the mouse responded by grabing my snake and biting him in the side. I then quickly grabed a pair of tweezers i have that i have for my snake tub and quickly use it to seperate the mouse's teeth from my snake until he had killed it. Then after the mouse was dead my snake's mouth was full of tiny wood chips so he sat there for a few mins trying to get them out. But like a champ, he still ate the mouse. Luckily the mouse was small or it could have been worse. After my bp gets some time to calm down im gonna look him over to see how bad the bites are.

[Kaorte]

ouch thats not good!

I think it will be okay though, good thing you caught the mouse before it could do more damage. If there are any bite, just dab them with a bit of neosporin (the kind without the pain relief). You might also want to think about changing your substrate to paper towels or newspaper if you haven't already.

Good luck!

[hawaiianice99]

key example of why its a good idea to convert over to prekilled or thawed out feeders. may be a little difficult but way worth it.

[grim reaper in NY]

I agree. I simply will not feed live to any of my pets. It's too much of a risk for my snakes if they don't plan their strike just right and get the rat the first time. Rats can really tear a snake apart and leave it gravely injured should the snake miss the strike. As was said above, thank God you were there to prevent any more serious injury. Keep an eye on the bite site for any signs of infection. Abnormal swelling, discharge, etc. are tell tale signs your snake will need veterinary care asap to prevent any permanant or fatal effects.

[RoyalGuardian]

Thats why I switched to stunned. poor snakie... Thats why I don't use woodchips.. I use paper towels. They are much less expensive and they have a great absorbancy ^_^ The great snake poo and urate pickerupper.. BOUNTY!!!! <_<;;; I should do a commercial for them

[llovelace]

You'll have that sometimes, I have a girl that eats rats on the 110g range, she's is a garbage disposal, she doesn't wait for the perfect strike , so tongs in hand, I manage to keep her from getting bit 99% of the time.

If you are going to check her mouth, it is best to have a extra pair of hands to hpld it's body while you hold the head & check the mouth, using a Q-tip to help open it.

[deminon]

Well i just did a quick look over and he doesn't seem to have any real sign of injury. no blood, i didn't even see a scratch. i'll take a closer look after he has digested a little.

[rabernet]

Sounds like feeding went well then! I feed nothing but live to all of mine. The only f/t feeder is my kingsnake. The scales on your snakes are remarkable for protecting them from their prey.

Been feeding 40+ ball pythons live for close to 4 years now with no issues.

[frankykeno]

First thing we need to cover is this - ball pythons are not made of spun glass.

Yes occasionally, I'd be confident to say actually VERY rarely, a live prey can get a quick nip in. Snakes scales are designed to deal with this quite well - it is after all exactly what they were meant to eat, in a live feeding situation. Snakes normally do not get "torn apart" by a prey item. Injuries of that magnitude to the snake do NOT come from responsible live feeding situations.

Let's remember folks, as we comment on feeding experiences to stay with the reality and not veer off into the drama. Live feeding, done correctly by a responsible snakekeeper whose done their homework on both the snake AND the live prey is as appropriate as frozen/thawed or pre-killed. Were it not then I'd wonder why I have 40 snakes eating live on a regular basis and not a torn apart, prey bite scarred up one in the bunch.

As far as the substrate issue, again - not made of spun glass. Snakes do occasionally ingest small bits of their bedding and their digestive process deals with it quite efficiently. They naturally eat prey off the ground and nature's designed them to do so. Yes if you provide a substrate with big chunks one might get stuck, it happens. Most of the time it won't and your snake will be just fine. Any snake safe substrate is exactly that - safe. Not 100% guaranteed nothing can ever, ever go amiss but safe.

[littleindiangirl]

Thats why I switched to stunned. poor snakie...

And YOU'RE debating that euthanasia with CO2 is inhumane???

Stunning is cruel and completely unnecessary. You are a complete hypocrite and those feeders don't deserve to be treated in such a way.