Big Problem need guru help ASAP!

Artemis · 09-22-04, 07:48 PM

Ok Ok so I am running out the door to work, about an hour till I have to leave, and I decide to feed the snake. I just fed him 2 days ago but he usually will still eat regardless.

I switched him to the lizard litter bedding a few days ago after I cleaned out his tank post shed. Just like when I changed his hides, he hated it and camped out on his tank decor for about a day till he decided he wanted to hide again.

Now in the interest of saving time tonight, I put a paper towel down in the tank to feed him on top of without the substrate being a problem. Omega has ALWAYS constricted and fed right where the food was dangled and he struck it.

UNTIL TONIGHT...

THe snake, determined to scoff at my time saving maneuver, DRAGGED the rat BACK INTO HIS HIDE, needless to say getting a bit of the bedding on its fur. Its not shake and bake coated or anything, but there is definitely a bit of it on there.

I know they arent supposed to eat this stuff, and I tried to get it away from him. But he simply coils tighter on it every time I tug on it with the tongs!

I am really freaking out here and I have about 30 minutes until I am supposed to be at work, meanwhile the snake is downstairs with the rat in the hide and probably starting to eat it!

Help please!

Art

Artemis · 09-22-04, 08:01 PM

Aargh he has already downed it. Peeking in the hide all that remains of the rat is the big lump in the snake!!! IS he going to die?????????

CamHanna · 09-22-04, 08:39 PM

The ophidian gastro-intestinal tract ("snake belly" when I'm not trying to sound like a guru

) is durable and a small amount of substrate will almost certainly pass through. The problem with blockages happens when larger amounts of substrate are ingested feeding after feeding. I would keep an eye on him but I don't believe this is anything to worry about.

I'm certainly not the foremost authority on ball pythons and this is my opinion, I'm sure that others will offer their opinions as well.

Cam

BigBADace · 09-22-04, 09:24 PM

Yeah i would not freak out too much its not a big deal from the sounds of it?..although i was wondering if u always feed it every 2 days or if this was a one time thing, sounds like it probably was, or u would have one obese snake on your hands!

mykee · 09-22-04, 09:40 PM

Don't worry about it, it should pass through no troubles; decent-sized snake, small substrate = you worry too much. Also, I've seen pics, and Omega is in no fear of becoming obese. Wish I had a ball that ate every 2-3 days though...

Artemis · 09-22-04, 10:05 PM

Hahaha yeah he isnt too fat. Ive got him on medium sized rat pups right now. Weanlings maybe? I forget what they call them at the LPS. I go with the "slightly larger than the fattest part of him" size guide. They are f/t and "hydrated."

You guys made me feel much better. All I knew was you werent supposed to feed them on the shreddy substrate. I didnt know why though. Thought maybe it would be toxic. Impaction makes sense now, but yeah I dont think he ate more than a few bits. I also noticed that he has cleverly pushed all of the lizard litter OUT of the hides, hahaha. I really dont think he likes it very much (when I first put it in he spent a day stretched like a tightrope across his terracotta pot hides), so I think next tank cleaning we will go back to paper towels.

He does typically eat 2 rats a week. I feed him one on Sunday, then offer another on Wednesday. That allows for handling on the weekends. He has yet to refuse anything. I daresay I could waggle one in front of him right now and he would probably eat it. Mine seems to be on the "trash compactor" end of the ball feeding spectrum. I will post some pics this weekend.

Thanks again, I was really stressing about this one. So much for the "just put in a paper towel and feed him on that" theory!

Artemis

CamHanna · 09-22-04, 11:30 PM

Glad to here you're feeling better about the whole thing.

Quote:

Mine seems to be on the "trash compactor" end of the ball feeding spectrum.

Lucky You

. Mine seem to be the exact opposite of that. Luckely I have a bottomless Macklot's to suck up all the rejects... checking the feeding records from last week he had an adult rat (his OWN food), 2 rat pups and 4 adult mice (the heater cord got pulled from the wall so my other snakes cooled down over night and didn't eat). That's perhaps a heavier week than he normally has but no doubt he thought he could eat more.

jglass38 · 09-23-04, 06:38 AM

My ball is a trash compactor as well. He is eating small rats and would probably eat 2 a week if I let him. His meals are generally slightly bigger than his biggest section and he has no problem with them.

Artemis · 09-23-04, 07:29 AM

Shoot, I say feed em twice a week if they will take them. You never know when/if they will go off feed, so get em in while the gettings good. So long as your ball doesnt appear horribly fat to you, jglass, I say try offering to him every 2-3 days and see how he does.

Artemis

mykee · 09-23-04, 11:51 AM

Bingo Artemis!! You learn quick. You have unlocked the riddle to feeding balls. Yoda will be proud (not Jeff, the real Yoda). Lol...

Jeff_Favelle · 09-23-04, 12:01 PM

LOL, i'll be proud too!!!

mykee · 09-23-04, 12:39 PM

Now you've got the approval of BOTH Yodas! As Martha would say, "That's a good thing".

jglass38 · 09-23-04, 03:57 PM

Favelle and Mykee, you agree with Artemis' advise? He would definitely eat if offered but I dont want an obese ball.

Jamie

mykee · 09-23-04, 04:44 PM

Jamie, I sure do!! If ANY of my balls (females moreso) would eat every couple of days, I would be more than willing to oblige. It would make up for the 7 months a year they go off feed.

jglass38 · 09-23-04, 05:46 PM

Wow, great news for Coyle. He is an eating machine. Although the rats he has been eating are a bit bigger than his girth so I am not sure he needs more than 1 per week but he would definitely take it. Maybe a small mouse mid week? Bad idea to switch back and forth between mice and rats?