Hello everybody,

Salzedo just shed tonight and he looks great. I handled him afterwards just to make sure the tip of his tail was clear of shed (it wasn’t, so I helped). Just as I was about to put him back in his enclosure I noticed that he had something on the side of his mouth. At first I thought it was just a bit of stubborn shed, but upon closer inspection I realized that his lips were slightly parted and a small piece of aspen was sticking through. I use finely shredded aspen substrate.

I very gently gripped the splinter with my fingers and, thankfully, it lifted clear of his mouth without any resistance.

I was surprised to see that the splinter was actually quite big for his little mouth. It was also rather soggy with saliva. He ate on the 1st of May (in a separate feeding tub with only paper for substrate) so I’m thinking it must have happened sometime during his shed. However, I’ve not seen him in a couple of days, so the possibility exists that it could have happened between the 2nd and today (4th).

I didn’t notice any blood on the splinter, just saliva.

Are there any special concerns I should keep in mind? Has anybody else picked substrate out of their snake’s mouth with no ill effects?

I observed him flicking his tongue freely, even while the splinter was in place (it seemed to have been lodged just under his lips), but I will continue to monitor him for any signs of oral infection and distress.

Thanks for your time! Here is a picture of the splinter with a penny for size comparison.