feeding gone wrong

[mpkeelee]

i was watching my snake and he kept going up to the screen and smelling around. so after a while i figured ill just throw a f/t mouse in there and see what he does. he went right for it and got it down. but then i noticed a piece of the aspen sticking out of his mouth. i was gonna grab it but he rubbed his face on his hide and it went in. he kept yawning trying to push it down and it looked stuck in the skin in his throat so i took him to the vet. they looked but said it went down. i hope he doesnt have a piece of aspen sticking into his throat all night or doing worse things

[Kaorte]

I'm sure he got it down.
They can handle a bit of substrate. I mean, they have rat claws poking in their throat as they are swallowing, I don't think a piece of substrate is an issue.

[Lolo76]

Yeah, I wouldn't worry too much - but good for you on taking him to the vet, since it shows you care about your baby. Back when I used Carefresh bedding (now I use newspaper) Delilah got a mouthful of it during a feeding, and was SO annoyed! She kept rubbing her mouth/face, and spit the mouse out before it went down... after that incident she started shaking the mouse before eating, which was actually pretty cute. Now that I use newspaper she's stopped doing that, and I haven't had any problems with my other snakes ingesting anything. Yet another reason why newspaper makes a great substrate, LOL.

[trott]

Not to worry aspen is digestable.As long as its fine or twice milled. The big aspen stuff like rabbit bedding would be a concern though. Just think about what they'd be swallowing in the wild.

[mpkeelee]

thanks everyone for the reply. he seems to be doing fine now. hes in his hide poking his out out and watching me. i think im gonna go back to feeding in a cardboard box just to be safe. he never had a problem with that