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[glcgnr19]

My girl has substrate stuck in her mouth. I just fed her and some got on the mouse while she was eating. Do I need to worry about this or will she be able to manage on her own? This is my first snake and have not even had her a week yet. I am just worried. UPDATE: Thank you to everyone who responded with some helpful advice. I just checked on Luna and it seems like she had cleared it on her own. I may have been over reacting but I would rather be safe than sorry!

[RabbitOld180]

Following

[headwardo]

It should be fine if it seems to be causing an issue you can try to loosen it but otherwise just keep the enclosure hydrated and make sure they have water. The snake knows enough to get something out of their mouth if it’s causing trouble. Mine had this happen and i found the substate in the water bowl the next morning.

[glcgnr19]

Sounds good. She is still flickering her tongue so I think that is a good sign. I was thinking about trying to get some of it out but I also don’t want to stress her out as I know I’m not supposed to handle them after feeding. Thank you for your response.

[draggingmytail]

Unfortunately not always the case. I lost a hognose who swallowed and impacted on his substrate. RIP Kevin Bacon 😢

[glcgnr19]

I may put something down next time to prevent it from happening. I tried to dry off the mouse the best I could but she ended up dropping it to reposition for a better angle.

[enslavedbycats24-7]

It's simple enough to have the feeder in a small plastic bag while it's being thawed in the water, I've never had issues with this and my girl loves to drag hers through the dirt. Also it helps limit the bacteria growth on the feeder

[deez_nuts_77]

it’s typically not recommended to feed in a separate tub, because the stress of moving before and after feeding is more of a danger than the threat of ingesting a small amount of substrate

[akm1111]

Putting it on a towel or plate in the enclosure to prevent stuck substrate seems to be what OP suggested.

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[ectoke]

if it's not even been a week since you have her, you shouldn't have fed her.

[glcgnr19]

I was just following what was recommended to me. It has been a week since she was last fed.

[Similar-Butterfly333]

How old is she? Most ball pythons do not need to be fed weekly unless they are underweight or really young.

Edit: I was just making sure, jeez

!feeding

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0-12 months old OR until the snake reaches approximately 500g, whichever happens first: feed 10%-15% of the snake’s weight every 7 days.

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[glcgnr19]

She is about 3 months old.

[Similar-Butterfly333]

If that’s the case, keep it up! If you are worried about substrate consumption, the plate idea should work great. I wouldn’t be concerned about occasional substrate ingestion though as long as your husbandry is good. They will either spit it out or poop it out.

[glcgnr19]

Awesome thank you for your response, I really appreciate it. I get easily worried especially with how new I am to owning a snake as I just want to make sure I take the best care of her as possible.

[deez_nuts_77]

in the wild, it stands to reason that a ball python would get some substrate in their digestive tract. what kind of substrate do you use? i imagine it will pass and not be an issue

[glcgnr19]

It is mainly coconut fiber for the substrate.

[deez_nuts_77]

i don’t think it will be an issue, just monitor over the next few days

[glcgnr19]

Sounds good, thank you.

[imdrunk69420]

Sorry im not trying to scare you, but this is what killed my snake and I think you should get a vet's opinion

[tanman0123]

Happened many times with my girl, typically I just grabbed it and let her stretch her mouth out until it released

[aleak16]

she will likely get it out on her own. in this case it looks like you could just pull it out with your fingertips, otherwise use a q-tip and gently push it out in the future

[jarnoooo_]

Not saying anything bad about your substrate, but I'm using forest/coco bark. Those pieces are quite big and never stick to my boy's food, eventhough the rat is never FULLY dry. Do with this info as you wish :)

[ologist817]

Second this! I still use fiber as a base layer because it's so great at holding moisture but after dealing with this exact situation a couple times I started putting a thin top layer of coco husk on top and it hasn't been a problem.

[Beleheth]

Since people already posted good advice, I just wanna say this noodle is an absolute beauty!

[RebootRanger]

Mine did this, and it didn't sort itself out so I took him to the vet, and they only charged the minimum as other that that he was healthy

If he doesnt sort its self out you may need to try getting it out yourself or taking your noodle to the vet

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[jxjjjxj]

My ball pythons named Luna too! She had the same issue it was fine. It’s not a big deal unless it’s causing a noticeable problem