Need advice. Substrate stuck inside Boas mouth

lguevara__ · 04-09-17, 06:57 PM

Hey there. I just got done feeding my boa. Usually all goes well. However, today after finishing her meal I noticed an opening in her mouth and after close inspection I note es there was some cypress mulch stuck in the lower right corner of her jaw.
What's the best way to go about this?
Thanks

lguevara__ · 04-09-17, 07:21 PM

So after typing this I went back to check on her, which was about 3 minutes later, and it seems to be gone. I was worried it would still be in there and as I was checking her mouth she yawned! I was able to get a good look inside her mouth and there appears to be nothing. Whew lol. I worried I was gonna have to open her mouth and check.
I've never checked inside my snakes mouth. What do you guys think is the best way to open their jaws?
JIC I ever need to check.

GyGbeetle · 04-10-17, 10:30 AM

There is an area just behind the jaw line, then when squeezed gently, it will open their mouths. But be as gentle as possible, because you can still crush their bones.

My burm had some mulch stuck in her mouth from feeding just this past weekend, and we took a q-tip and just ran it along the edge of the mouth where the mulch was, and she opened her mouth enough for us to remove the chip. Didn't have to squeeze or anything. It was the scariest 30 seconds of my life, because she's a burm, and was looking for more food after we fed her

**Andy_G** · 04-10-17, 12:54 PM

These things take care of themselves as you found out.

The correct way to open the mouth is NOT to squeeze behind the head. It's actually to use your thumb on the bottom of the head (under the chin) to pull the lip on the jaws apart slightly, then slide a gag or something round in nature into the mouth so as to not harm the mouth or parts of it. You really don't need to do this routinely, only if you suspect an issue and see objective signs of one such as swelling for instance.