Ball Python ate A LOT of substrate

[Bogertophis]

I would put down some flat cardboard or other similar material as a "plate" next time, to help keep your snake from eating too much substrate. Never use any type of cloth, btw- their teeth catch on it & down it goes with their meal, requiring surgery to remove it because they cannot digest nor pass it. Same goes for any substantial pieces of wood- snakes don't have the enzymes to digest it, so if they were to consume some that is too large to pass- if it gets "stuck"- you'll know because they'll be unable to defecate, you might even see some bloody discharge, & their cloacal area will look "puffy" (aka "sausage butt", as it's known around here). Like constipated humans, a snake's appetite will also go down if they cannot pass stool, & it becomes essential to their survival to fix the situation. Anyway, I don't think the substrate you're using is likely to cause an impaction, so relax...but it's still best that he doesn't consume a lot of it.

His "striking at random things" suggests to me that he may be overly-hungry- are you sure you're feeding him enough (ie. the right size prey & at the right intervals)? Beyond that, you have to remember he's young & still learning...we were all pretty goofy when we were younger too, lol. Hyper & impulsive. Pretty normal in a baby snake, & far better than one with no appetite.

https://ball-pythons.net/forums/show...ing-Guidelines