My snake ATE my snake

[Joe balls]

You're taking it rather calm too. If it was me I would be one pissed off sob as my pied ball python and my Redgroup/Burke Lipstick sunglow both cost me a nice chunk of pocket change each not to mention I'm rather attached to all my pets

It wasn't a huge financial hit, she was a normal and he is a little drinker gene I rescued that I might try to prove out one day. The girl was my smallest snake there for cutest snake I had if you ask my daughters and I'm more upset for them. For me I'm just kinda awestruck. Didn't think that would happen. Don't you put yours together for pictures or anything? I've never even seen them strike at eachother and stupidly thought they were buddies or at least not food for eachother.

ravi is doing fine sofar today just hanging out in a log, he did take a large poop last night that must have been his previous meal, I thought that was promising maybe made more room in his full body. his breathing was alittle weird last night breathing in in out out but I think he was just unhappy I was holding him after he ate and doing a tough guy show. He stayed somewhat active, I heard him fall off the themometer he climbs on a couple times in the night.

[Reinz]

Hannibal the Cannibal. Atleast his name makes sense. I also have a ball python named Hannibal. Sorry for the loss op

This is not his real name. I apologize to Joe. I did not mean to be insensitive, nor was I trying to be funny.
I was trying to make my thoughts easy to understand by keeping typing short since I hunt and peck on an iPad.

[MarkS]

really? you wouldn't be pulling our leg now would you? Interesting...

[Joe balls]

This is not his real name. I apologize to Joe. I did not mean to be insensitive, nor was I trying to be funny.
I was trying to make my thoughts easy to understand by keeping typing short since I hunt and peck on an iPad.

I didn't take it as a dig, and knew what you ment by the name Hannibal. Some people are too up tight.
I guess I'm not that upset because the snake didn't do it out of malice and I can't go stick it's nose in a puddle of pee and say NO. It's my own stupid fault and like I said I'm more supprized than anything because they weren't aggressive with eachother and I was planning on a later hook up with these two so they would be together at least for a lock. Has anyone ever come back to a matting pair and saw one had eaten the other?
And no not pulling your leg my snake really ate my other snake, Didn't see it,but I did the math.

[Gio]

As others have said keep an eye on things. There a plenty of "stories" and real incidents that are supported with photos. "Boa eats royal" photos are on the net and easy to find. In the boa eating ball photos the snake doing the eating (boa) regurgitated early, but didn't survive. The royal was already breaking down from digestive acids and enzymes.

When they do regurgitate, its a somewhat stressful and energy consuming process.

I would skip a feedings for a bit, as snakes easily go without food for long periods. Then feed a smaller meal for the next go round. Make sure that meal is totally digested and eliminated before feeding again.

Some of this advice is cautious and is taken from BCC care practices as they are know to have issues when husbandry is not provided properly and meals are too large and frequent.There are cases where a regurgitation can set up a cycle of issues and lead to a pattern of further regurgitation issues. Again, this more applies to boas and more specifically Suri and Guyana area BCC's but under these circumstances I'll pass it along.

Play it safe if the animal survives this and slowly work back to normal.

[Skiploder]

Ball pythons are not ophiophagus by nature. Oftentimes, one ingesting the other results in the death of both.

The eating and digesting of one snake by another requires some unique adaptations....

[Felidae]

Rare, but not unknown with the younger balls.
True, that much more difficult to digest a reptile than a bird or rodent. Where will be critical, when he already digested partially, but the process not enough fast, and the little girl start to rotting in the stomach.

If he'll survive that accident, in your place at least 3-4 weeks I skip the feedings.

It happened for me with a young T.albolabris pair, and the two snakes was the same size. For them, cannibalism is much more common. Wasn't funny...

[se7en]

that sucks

[Gio]

It does suck, and it could suck more. While many boas and pythons are equipped to deal with ingesting other reptiles, including other snakes, the size of this compared to the usual meal is significant if I read the original post correctly.

I may be in the minority, but I feel most, not all snakes in captivity are fed more than they should be.

I have a royal that goes off food for 5-7 months at a time, and I'm convinced she'll live forever because she is regulating her own food intake and will not become a victim fatty build up due to the over abundance of fat in most captive bred and raised rodents,

To get back on topic, Skiploder stated that often the result in this situation is the demise of both snakes and that is true.

I hope not in this case, but I also agree with Felidae NOT to feed for a long while if the snake comes out of this OK.

Good luck.

[Sauzo]

Well the size of the food plays into the fat as well. Babies and jumbos aka usually retired breeders are fatty. The best foods for our snakes are medium to large rodents as far as rodents go. And they do get fed a lot but I wouldn't say really too much. The problem is most of our snakes don't get out much so you got a 6-8ft snake in a 4ft cage. How much exercise do you think they can really get. In the wild they have to actually hunt for food, find comfortable places to "hang out", possibly crawl at top speed away from a predator, swim across a river, you get the idea. I usually drag Rosey out every couple days and let her crawl around the couch or the chairs to give her exercise. She actually loves to come out and crawl around. Dottie usually gets outs every couple days as well but she isn't as much of an explorer as Rosey and Vicky who is a BCI too like Rosey has pretty much the same personality, she loves to explore everything but she is only about 2ft long. So my 2 cents is I try and balance outside time with food intake. But back on subject, nothing I can really say new that others haven't stated already. Guess chalk it up as a learning experience and thank god it wasn't a $400 snake eating another $400 snake.