I have never seen such a display but needless to say its something I never want to see again.
It was feeding time and all fed just fine except one, my 800gm jigsaw missed his prey and struck himself.
He bit his body about half way and proceeded to wrap his coils around his head and body. Half his little reptilian brain was struggling to get free while the other half was seemingly constricting against the perceived prey. The result was the tightest mass of ball python I could ever imagine. He was rolling and fighting and looked in distress.
I took him out of the enclosure And I was able unravel him until I got to his mouth that had full purchase on his midsection. Fortunately I was able to put gentle pressure on the base of his jaws to give just enough room to slide a tongue depressor beneath his top jaw and his body. I broke the depressor in half and then used the other half to get between the bottom jaw.
Once free of himself and the depressors I put him into his tub and reflected on what happened.
Did I do the right thing? Did I cause unnecessary stress? Could I have injured him? Would he have been better If he'd been left alone. I know I just reacted to the situation the best way I could have but maybe I over reacted. He seems fine now and is actively looking for that one that got away. I just don't know if I should have responded differently.
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