subtrate

[tonyb]

in my royals viv i use wood type chippings as substrate which is made for reptile use. now, when i feed her in her viv i always put some paper over the substrate to stop her swallowing accidently. but tonight she dragged her rat over the other side of the viv and a she swallowed a couple of small pieces of the substrate. will this harm her?

[tHeGiNo]

Hey Tony,

Depending on the size of the wood chip in comparison to the size of your snake, the wood chip may or may not do any harm. Try to keep a close eye on her, and let this be a lesson for the future. Either feed her in an entirely separate substrate-free enclosure, or find an alternative substrate (ie. newspaper). These things are bound to happen.

[mykee]

Yes. What kind of wood are these wood chippings? Either way, I would seriously recommend either using paper towel or newspaper as bedding or at the VERY LEAST, feed your ball outside of her enclosure to avoid impaction of loose substrate, possibly leading to death.

[tonyb]

normally i place a large piece of paper on the viv floor and this is normally adequate for her to strike, constrict and then eat her food. its just this time she dragged her meal to the other side of the viv for some reason. i have now changed to paper flooring. the pieces she swallowed were very small.