Should I remove substrate from mouth

Aussie Pythons & Snakes Forum

Help Support Aussie Pythons & Snakes Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.
Status
Not open for further replies.

Boegey

Not so new Member
Joined
Jul 8, 2013
Messages
22
Reaction score
0
It was my first time feeding on new substrate called chipsi which is just like small wood chips my local reptile shop recommended it and they normally know their stuff I asked what would happen if it was swallowed during feeding and he said they feed all their pythons on it and never have any dramas I just fed my diamond and noticed after he swallowed the rat when he stretched his mouth that there was two pieces sitting in his mouth he doesn't seem irritated by it but I'm worried should I remove it and if so what is the best and easiest way to do this? Help would be great im kind of stressing
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Just trying to completely understand your problem before I make any suggestions...
So is this correct? The python has swallowed and finished eating the rat, but there is wood chips stuck in its mouth that it has not swallowed?
 
Answers to the above question will help with provide advice/solution however in future just chuck some newspaper over the substrate and feed on that. I've often done this in the past to avoid ingestion of substrate. This issue is one of the main reasons I now use newspaper in all my cages.
 
Yer he's swalloee the rat and finished eating but after he finished eating when he was stretching his jaws I could see two bits just sitting in his mouth he doesn't seem irritated or worried at all but I don't want it to cause an problems
 
Ordinarily I'd leave it be - it's just the fact that it's wood chips that concerns me. If you are confident try and get his mouth open to see if the wood chips are still there. I wouldn't recommend you trying to fish them out though I'd probably leave that to an experienced vet.
 
Cage selection and furnishings are often a compromise between what looks good and what works well!
 
So what should ii do what is the best way to check in their mouth like how do I get his mouth open
 
If you want to keep the natural look I've never had a problem with kritters crumble. I've had snakes ingest it with no problem and when a piece is left in mouth after a feed they have removed it by themselves. This was more of a problem with the fine grade crumble but hasn't really happened since I switched to coarse grade. Also if you dry the feed item with paper towel before feeding it doesn't stick much.
 
Yer I might try the critters crumble stuff next what is the best and easiest way to check in his like to get his mouth open
 
Havnt had to do it myself,on the odd occasion it's happened the piece of substrate is sticking out the snakes mouth slightly and they've rubbed there head on their hide to remove it themselves. Apparantly you can use a credit card but i'd wait for someone with experience to comment.
 
Last edited:
Yer it's actually sitting in his mouth I only saw it because he stretched his mouth wide open and I saw the pieces just sitting next to his tongue at the front of his mouth
 
Status
Not open for further replies.

Latest posts

Back
Top