Please help: Ribbon snake problem

[SerpentGirl]

Ok, here is what happened..

I gave my ribbon snake a fish to eat, and he was very excited, and went after it. But the fish jumped out of the dish, so Jonesy went after it, but got a piece of Zoo Med Repti Bark instead, and swallowed it. :confused:

I immediately got the bag, and read it, and it says that since it is all natural, if a reptile eats a piece, they should be fine.

But I want to double check with all of you. Have any of your snakes done this, and if so, were they OK? I am worried about him, even though he is acting perfectly normal, and immediately began looking for his fish, which I removed.

[Pinky]

I have heard of people getting their snakes to regurge bedding but i'd wait for a more expert opinion as regurging can off set their digestive enzimes!sorry I can't be of more help.

[KITKAT]

I have had a Florida Blue adult (42 inches) eat a small piece of bedding once. I never figured out if it passed or digested, but the snake never got sick.

How big a piece of bark was eaten?

[SerpentGirl]

It was no bigger that I'd say, this square ---> [ ]

[GarterGuy]

It should be ok since it was such a small piece. The snake won't be able to digest it, but since it's so small it should pass. That does happen sometimes, as long as it's not a big piece of bedding and doesn't happen often, they usually do ok with it.

[Sid]

I've had some of mine get a small piece like that and it has not been a problem.

[scorpio]

Hi,

I use Newspaper as underground, so can't happen something like this. I've read, that this is normally not a problem, but bigger Barks can cause problems in the gut. Perhaps observe Jonesy some time, but a small peace actually harmless.

[SerpentGirl]

Thank you all! I feel better now. :)
I will keep my eye on him for sure.
When should I feed him his fish though? Because he is still looking for it.

[GarterGuy]

I'd go ahead and feed him. The bark was such a small piece that you really shouldn't have any worries. A fish down there on top of it, really isn't going to complicate things.:)

[aSnakeLovinBabe]

I watch my garters, both adults and babies VERY closely during feeding time. I us corn cob bedding and that stuff definately does not digest. it does not even soften a bit if its soaked in water for days. even though I generally feed all my baby garters while they are in my hand... sometimes the ones who know they are about to get fed get overly ambitious and decide tog rab a piece of corn cob and start to swallow it. upon seeing this I promptly grab them behind the head making sure i apply enough pressure so that they cant swallow it any more (they are so used to being fed this way that picking them up doesnt scare them te least), I then take a small pair of tweezers i have jsut for this reason and i take it out! On two occassions i have opened their cage to see one with a lump in its belly. knowing that that piece of corn cob is NOT going to come out the back end, I do the only thing I can. I induce regurgitation by VERY GENTLY massaging the little lump up through the neck and usually they spit it out on their own. other than that, I don't really have too many problems.

Now if an adult garter eats a piece... it realy doesnt bother him/her because it passes. to help things along I syringe a bit of water into the snakes mouth to make sure that the corn cob's trip is a smoothe one. My snakes are REALLY used to consistent almost daily handling so they don't stress one bit when things like this happen.

[aSnakeLovinBabe]

I forgot to say that I tink your garter will be fine :) a piece that small should pass as long as the snake's not a newborn or anything. and for god sake's! give him his fish before you have a mutiny on your hands!!! lol!

[Zephyr]

My advice is keep your garter on either non edible substrate, like newspaper, entirely, or put half the enclosure substrate and half non so you can feed them on the non-side. ;D

[GarterGuy]

I watch my garters, both adults and babies VERY closely during feeding time. I us corn cob bedding and that stuff definately does not digest. it does not even soften a bit if its soaked in water for days. even though I generally feed all my baby garters while they are in my hand... sometimes the ones who know they are about to get fed get overly ambitious and decide tog rab a piece of corn cob and start to swallow it. upon seeing this I promptly grab them behind the head making sure i apply enough pressure so that they cant swallow it any more (they are so used to being fed this way that picking them up doesnt scare them te least), I then take a small pair of tweezers i have jsut for this reason and i take it out! On two occassions i have opened their cage to see one with a lump in its belly. knowing that that piece of corn cob is NOT going to come out the back end, I do the only thing I can. I induce regurgitation by VERY GENTLY massaging the little lump up through the neck and usually they spit it out on their own. other than that, I don't really have too many problems.

Now if an adult garter eats a piece... it realy doesnt bother him/her because it passes. to help things along I syringe a bit of water into the snakes mouth to make sure that the corn cob's trip is a smoothe one. My snakes are REALLY used to consistent almost daily handling so they don't stress one bit when things like this happen.

Wow....I haven't heard of anyone using corn cob for bedding snakes in forever.....pretty much just for the examples you gave. That and I find it's really dusty, rots when it gets wet and I just really don't like the smell of it (that might be from working with it for YEARS while managing a pet store, we used it for the birds....and I hated cleaning up after the birds...LOL).

[SerpentGirl]

Alright, I fed him his fish and he is very happy!

I was thinking of switching out the Repti Bark for a reptile carpet. That should avoid any future bark-swallowing trauma! Lol.

[GarterGuy]

You could try the Carefresh bedding (like me and Felzer use). I like it because they can still burrow into it, but it's totally safe if it does accidentally get ingested.

[Lori P]

I love the care fresh. The only ones I have left to switch over are the ball pythons. :-)

[Sputnik]

I use the same stuff by a different company (Bob Martin) and love it, too.

[tikichick]

I haven't taken a close look at carefresh, so I hope you don't mind me asking for a little more info. :) Besides being good to burrow in, what else do yall like about it? And what is it about it that makes it safe if ingested?

[drache]

it's made out of reclaimed wood pulp - a waste product in paper making - and it's a lot like unformed paper nuggets
it's very absorbent
it bio-degrades and can be composted
poops can just be picked off
it's a pretty inoffensive colour (grey), but also comes in a full spectrum of colours for those humans who prefer a less natural look
it does smell a tad acidy when I first open the bag, but other than that it doesn't smell and it does the job as far as controlling animal odours
it seems to last a long time with minimal maintenance

the downside is that it's sometimes hard to find the snakes in it

[GarterGuy]

Yeh, Rhea pretty much summed it up. One other thing I do like about it, is that it also won't rot or get moldy if it gets wet.

[Lori P]

And, it comes in PURPLE! :D

[anji1971]

And, it comes in PURPLE! :D

Well, there's your selling point right there!!!:D

[Loren]

I'm not crazy about carefresh- seems to dry to me, but if it works for you, and seems to work for the snakes, go for it.
Lori, I would just watch the ball pythons, especially at shedding time to make sure there is enough humidity. My ball python gets kinda constipated and has trouble shedding if humidity is too low. But, like I said, if it seems to work, good deal.

[tikichick]

mmmmm, purple paper nuggets, sounds yummy! Thanks for the info yall. I think I'll have to give it a try when I run out of aspen. I hope they have green, lol :D

[Lori P]

Loren, I've been holding out on putting the balls on it for that reason. I think now I'll just skip it. I think they need their bedding to hold a bit of humidity. Thanks!! :-)

Mine haven't eaten in 2 weeks... hope they're not off on a hunger strike. I've been so lucky with them so far!!

[Stefan-A]

I think fasting long periods of time is pretty normal for balls. I think somebody said that they're off feed for several months each year in the wild.

[drache]

yes, it it pretty dry and I always make sure to provide a damp hide

[tikichick]

Bp's need a water bowl to soak in, too. :)

[Lori P]

Mine never soak. Everyone else's soak. I have defective bp's, LOL!! But they shed clean every time... and they certainly have a huge water bowl for soaking if they choose. Silly girls. :-)

[tikichick]

Lol, naw. Mine doesn't really soak either. He slithers in and right back out. He had a lousy shed last time, though, so I'm making him soak with a weekly bath time, lol.

[adamanteus]

I have three sub-adult radix in one viv..... there is a large water bowl in there. One snake lives in the water, the other two rarely venture in.

[drache]

perhaps there's just individual preferences
after all there are human who love long baths and others just want a quick shower