URGENT Bark stuck in Ball Python's gum

[Shoyle]

I fed my ball python just recently and when I checked on him I noticed a small piece of cypress mulch sticking out of his mouth. He opened his mouth and I saw that it was lodged in his gums. What do I do??

[zina10]

Pick him up, and pull it out

To make this easier, you can put him into a pillow case, with only a bit of the upper part of him sticking out. Keep the rest of him "balled up" in the pillow case.

Then GENTLY but firmly grab a hold behind the head and pull out the bark. If he struggles badly, kind of "go with" his movements, but don't let go.
Have tweezers and another person there, if that helps.

[predatorkeeper87]

grab the noodle behind his head firmly but gently, and pull it out. He's going to squirm so as stated above go with the movements and don't let him wildly flail.

[Craiga 01453]

The above help is spot on. I would suggest some tweezers and you should be able to get it no problem. Use your dominant hand to remove the object while using your other hand to hold the snake as described above. You may even find the animal seems to know you want to help and will be calm and easy to work with. It's almost like they have a sense and know when we are trying to help. Good luck, let us know how it goes

[cchardwick]

I had the same thing happen a few times with aspen bedding, that's one of the reasons I moved to coconut husk substrate. Never had a problem with the large chunks of coconut husk, at least not yet.

[loonunit]

I'm hoping this got solved overnight, but I use a Qtip longways between the jaws to hold the snake's mouth open, and then tweezers to remove the bits of bark. You do have to hold the snake's head still, but they will open right up when you prod their nose with the side of the Qtip.

This is basically how I do oral examinations as well.

[Streller]

Any update on this?