r/ballpython • u/Altruistic_Chart4202 • 1d ago
Question - Health Is this going to complicated her health?
Enable HLS to view with audio, or disable this notification
my ball python swallowed a considerably large(?) wood chip while eating. this hasn’t happened to me before and I’m concerned this might effect her health. she is already in a bad state heath wise, as im nursing her back after serious neglect at her previous home. I would’ve tried to remove the chip, but by the time I noticed it was too far gone for me to feel I could preform safely. is this something I should be concerned about? is this vet worthy? Is it that serious or am I worried about nothing?
im aware swallowing small parts of dirt is fine and normal, but a giant wood chip like this?
20
u/WizeIII 1d ago
Go to the vet, especially if you notice any large bulges along her belly, ESPECIALLY NEAR cloaca. If your enclosure has a solid warm spot, I find that mine will pass it. Personally, I have had a snake eat more then this and still pass it. A healthy snake that is hydrated and has enough heat should pass a bit of substrate. It is bound to happen in their 25+ years.
36
8
u/Virtual_Nail_3531 1d ago
Grab out with small tongs ?
3
u/ThinkQuotient27 1d ago
I do wonder every time I hear this, how would you do that exactly?
11
u/Loud_Bumblebee_7924 1d ago
Firm grip behind head but not too tight, gently pry, the mouth open, 2nd set of hands uses hemostat to grab it, best not to try unless you're trained
5
7
u/Altruistic_Chart4202 1d ago
By the time i noticed the tongs still had rat residue, so i was afraid she would either strike again or try and eat them. The wood was also stuck in the teeth and i didn’t want to hurt her. I was also panicking lol. She’s entirely swallowed it now
6
u/Difficult_Sir_3572 1d ago
My ball did the same thing when he went to strike his food. Do not be afraid to use your feeding tweezers/tongs to remove it!! If they strike you it’s not gonna hurt like you think. Grab the back of their neck, open their jaws up, and remove that! I mean I know it’s too late to do that now but for future reference.
11
u/SadBenefit5325 1d ago
In my house we feed our snakes over a dinner plate so there’s less chance of this happening. Hope your snake is alright 🥺
6
u/Current_Security_514 1d ago
Second this, my boy comes out immediately with the dinner plate set out. I also started doing this for the same reason.
7
6
u/Kiwiskins241 22h ago
I feed mine in a little plastic storage bin that I stick inside his enclosure. He literally climbs right in when he sees it lol
3
u/fawnsol 11h ago
third this! both of my BPs recognize a paper plate as dinner time :) they don't always land on it but its usually pretty easy to scootch it closer to them/try to get them to strike in front of it so they land somewhat on it. I've had a similar issue with my male, he had a fairly big wood chip in his mouth while he was eating, so I grabbed a hold of it with the tongs and tried to gently encourage him to work off of it. my female's never had any issues thankfully!
2
u/TazerLazer 22h ago
Hey, just to check, is that a wood chip or a coco husk chip? Because it looks like you have coco husk substrate. Cause coca husk is gonna be a lot easier for her to handle than wood.
1
1
u/thesongalor23 20h ago
Is the wood chip still lodged in the upper jaw ?. If so it would probably be best to take them to a vet pretty quickly as it could be cutting into upper jaw and cause more harm in the long term
1
u/IllusionQueen47 16h ago
Hopefully she'll be okay. Next time, definitely watch her eat, and make sure to use the tongs to remove any chips stuck to the rodent while she's eating.
1
u/ExplanationEvening59 13h ago
My ball is 3 years old now. But when we first got him he sucked at striking and would eat some soil. He was fine. However that isnt always going to be the case. If you notice it, Id recommend long tweezers to fish it out. If you notice that they dont eat, poop, or seem to have an issue, take it to the vet.
1
0
u/MostDefiant9792 7h ago
Take your snake out and feed it in a tote to avoid this issue.
1
u/Real-Construction570 7h ago
Removing from their enclosure to feed is an outdated practice and can have higher chances of food strikes and regurgitation due to them not being in a comfortable environment
1
u/MostDefiant9792 7h ago
I’ve been doing it for over a decade and never had a snake throw up after eating. It’s about how and when you handle them when they’re done. But yeah one size fits all
1
-1
23h ago
[removed] — view removed comment
3
u/EclecticVoodoo 21h ago
I grew up with my father removing from the enclosure to feed so I assumed that’s what I’d also do. However, in my own research, I read over and over again how dangerous it could be for them to regurgitate due to stress from handling within 48-72 hours so I grew extremely anxious about that too. I just opted to feed in the enclosure over a dish and ensure the mouse isn’t wet to the touch that way, in case it does touch the substrate, it doesn’t stick to it. I still don’t know if that’s “the right answer” but it’s worked so far and definitely reduces my anxiety around feeding time.
2
u/ballpython-ModTeam 20h ago
Per rule #3, your post or comment has been removed for harmful advice or misinformation. Please review our sub resources to learn more about why.
If you have a question about this removal, please contact the mod team. Complaining via post/comment will result in a ban.
-1
17h ago
[removed] — view removed comment
1
u/ballpython-ModTeam 13h ago
Per rule #3, your post or comment has been removed for harmful advice or misinformation. Please review our sub resources to learn more about why.
If you have a question about this removal, please contact the mod team. Complaining via post/comment will result in a ban.
129
u/UnlikelyPotato 1d ago
People say it's fine, but I lost a baby $3000 lavender false water cobra because it decided to eat a large wood chip without being noticed. Caused impaction and everything seemed fine until it was too late. It's better to take them to the vet than have regret. You'll probably want an X-ray nowish to make sure it's in the stomach and in a few weeks to make sure there's no impaction. However likely fine. Wood chips are indigestible and will absorb water and expand 2-4x. Looks like your BP however is pretty big vs wood chips "should" be able to poop the expanded wood pieces without issue. Make sure they have plenty of water.