My Ball Python

[fastkill98]

My BP, Ademaro, has unfortunately ate some small wood chippings that are used for her bedding. Is there anything i can do to help her? She is about 2ft long, has a good temper, she hasn't bitten me or striked at me. I feed her two fuzzies every two weeks. She has a healthy appetite and has always eaten. I have a container of water, and a heating rock in her cage. Also a log for her to climb on and sleep under. Is this going to seal my snakes fate, or is there anyway that i can help her. Thanks for any future posts.


P.S. I know now that i need to use things like newspaper, towels, etc. Also i would get her a heating lamp, but is there a certain type to buy? Also, will she need some sort of shelter to hide from the heated area?

[DeesBalls]

if they are small chips i would say that she should just pass them. I AM NOT AN EXPERT HERE BY NO MEANS!!! i just wanted to point that out but honestly i cant see it hurting her if they are small chips.

as for other things you mention, 2 fuzzies, every 2 weeks seems like underfeeding... personally i feed mine 2 mice every week.... maybe im over feeding i dont know...

but as to the chips, i think it will pass... but like i said, im not an expert, im sure some one else will chip in with more experience.

hope all is well

[Smilts]

Honestly the chance for impaction I dont think is that high. On the feeding I would advice feeding one rodent of proper size for the animal once a week. Theres lots of different ways people decide on what is the rite size I go with if its about the same size around as the snake then its good. On heating I would first remove the heat rock they are scary umpredictable. A under tank heater is my prefered heat source for everything but my Tegu and she has a overhead lamp and a under tank. A heat lamp on one end of the tank leaving the other end cooler with a hide box on both ends also works.

[Will0W783]

Fastkill98, just keep an eye on her and look for passed stools. If she doesn't pass by the next time you feed her, she might be impacted. Most of the time wood chips are not that bad; they can usually digest them. Things like sand, corn cob, cedar and pine bedding are VERY BAD- never use these things as they can impact and cedar/pine have aromatic oils that can poison snakes. As for the heating rock,

[Will0W783]

gak! I hit the wrong button and it posted too soon. What I meant was, as for the heating rock, get it out NOW- your snake could suffer a dangerous burn. Burns from heating rocks are very common in snakes, as they don't seem to know enough to get off when they're getting burned. Remove it TODAY.

[fastkill98]

Its been awhile since the problem occurred and she seems to be doing fine. I will remove the rock as soon as i can pick up a heat lamp and a hide box for her. Its Wednesday so it's almost time for her feeding and i will be sure to pick up a newspaper as well as the heat lamp. Anyone know how much a heat lamp would cost?

[Will0W783]

I think the lamps are around $10 and the bulb another $5-20, depending on the wattage and type. You can get really fancy with full-spectrum sunglow bulbs or ceramic heat emitter bulbs, or simple with heat/light combo bulbs. I personally wouldn't wait to get the heat rock out. It's dangerous, and every minute it is in there is a chance of the snake getting burned. And burns can get infected, and then it is very hard to treat and save the animal.

[fastkill98]

Well, i don't want her to not have a heating source so will covering the rock in a towel or something reduce the chance of burn until i can buy her the lamp? and would a 50watt light bulb/lamp be ok? and as for now, how big of a water dish should i have in her cage?

[Will0W783]

I don't know about covering it. It might work, but the snake might also eat the towel and that can be disastrous. There was a thread a while ago on here about someone who fed their snake f/t food on a towel and the snake ate the towel and I think it had to have surgery. You could find a box or something and cover the rock with that I guess. I would just take the thing out though and possibly you could put it on top of the screen lid so it would radiate heat down in. I personally would just go out and buy a heat lamp today. The wattage really depends on how big the cage is and how warm the ambient air in the room is. For example, at my apartment when I just had the one snake, he was in a 55-gallon tank and I had a 150 watt heat bulb on him. But now he is in a 30-breeder and I have all 29 of my snakes in one room, so some of them don't even need lamps because the room is warm (around 84 in the day) just with the lamps in half the cages. What is the size of your cage? As for the water dish, have a bowl large enough for the snake to be able to curl up in and soak itself. For example, I have a large dog water dish in with my 6-foot dwarf retic. Snakes can coil into small spots, but make sure the bowl is large enough for her.

[fastkill98]

Well, I'm 15 and without a car so i have no way of transportation and my parents are on vacation.... so of course they are being lazy :P and don't want to take me to the pet store that is about a 30min drive. I feel really bad but i cant walk 30 miles to town. As for the towel, she is right next to my computer so i will never let her eat the towel. She only gets active when i place food in her cage. As for gallon i honestly have no idea... I'm going to guess about a 30 gallon and my room temperature is about 80ish (since i have a lot of electronics which heats it up). Also what about her feeding (Two fuzzies every two weeks) Should i be upgrading to just an adult mouse or what?

[citysnakes]

dont scare the kid... look sometimes snakes take a really long time to go to the washroom so you cant diagnose impaction just because a snake hasnt defecated since the previous feeding. i think your snake will be fine even if he doesnt go by the next feeding(which he most likely wont go).

also the thread about the snake that ate the towel was a totally different situation caused by a freak feeding accident. if you feel like you need to lay the towel down over the heat rock until you get a heat lamp then that should be ok. you know what? to be safe just dont feed him on it...:rolleyes:

as for the feeding, i also agree that an approriately sized rodent, once a week is best. take a good look at your snake and judge her thickest point ok? then go to the pet store and try to find a rodent of similar thickness. if you can go for an appropriately sized rat.

good luck.

[Will0W783]

Thanks for clarifying that Julian- I didn't want to tell him it was OK to do something if I wasn't totally sure.

[Carameldelight]

I had the same problem with a heat rock and didn't have the money to purchase another heat source..... so i talk to one of the local snake breeders and he told me to put a damp sock over the heat rock..... it boost the humidity and keeps the snake safe.....until i could get a heat pad....

[fastkill98]

Well sure enough when i fed her today, she stroke, and missed the food hitting the towel and she tried to strangle it. But of course i was watching so i gently got her to stop "suffocating" the towel and she moved onto her food. Thanks for clearing everything up guys.

[siz]

Good thing you were there watching :)

[fastkill98]

yeah i know, she really was fighting to kill the towel lol. But i finally got her to let go.

[DeesBalls]

haha is the towel okay?

just joking its a good thing you were there watching:)