Okay so just finished feeding and looks like my normal girl was still hungry after she finished her rat. She then began consuming the paper towel lining the bottom of her tub. I had made the discovery probably 5 minutes after she started, i got as much out as i could but there is undoubtedly still some in her, she brutally faught back my forceps to keep them from going down her throat. I gave her a small rat to chase it down and get it out from her neck. She ate the rat and the obvious swell of the paper towel is gone but I'm still worried. Any advice?
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Well... this is new. Advice appreciated
- Thread starter Pythonbreeder99
- Start date
This is exactly why I don't use paper towels as bedding. Impaction is a definite possibility. If it was me I'd make a vet appointment ASAP, or at least call the vet office and ask what they think. But that's just me and I can be paranoid and overprotective when it comes to my critters 
Runtzz
New member
A piece of the towel probably got stuck in her mouth as she was eating the rat, just make sure she didn't take any of it down. She should be fine.
Robert Walker
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Can't a snake take a little pride and wipe his mouth off after a meal?
I house all my snakes on paper towels, and have for years. I think there is a difference between swallowing a piece or a whole towel.
What would happen to all the snakes in the wild who swallow leaves, grass, wood chips and other objects stuck to their wild caught prey. Heck, I know of captive held BPs that swallow wood chips because of their bedding. I'm not a vet, but I don't think some paper towel is going to do too much. It got washed down with another rat and some water soon.
I have a picture of one of my Burmese pythons swallowing an actual bath towel from my idiot college days. I will see if I can dig it up. Bath towel = yikes. Paper towel = I "personally" wouldn't worry to much.
I house all my snakes on paper towels, and have for years. I think there is a difference between swallowing a piece or a whole towel.
What would happen to all the snakes in the wild who swallow leaves, grass, wood chips and other objects stuck to their wild caught prey. Heck, I know of captive held BPs that swallow wood chips because of their bedding. I'm not a vet, but I don't think some paper towel is going to do too much. It got washed down with another rat and some water soon.
I have a picture of one of my Burmese pythons swallowing an actual bath towel from my idiot college days. I will see if I can dig it up. Bath towel = yikes. Paper towel = I "personally" wouldn't worry to much.
Reptile Frenzy
Member
Yeah Robert has a point. We house all our ball pythons on aspen and our baby ball pythons on paper towels. Im sure some of our snakes have taken down some aspen shavings a time or two. We have never had a problem. No worries!
Can't a snake take a little pride and wipe his mouth off after a meal?
I house all my snakes on paper towels, and have for years. I think there is a difference between swallowing a piece or a whole towel.
What would happen to all the snakes in the wild who swallow leaves, grass, wood chips and other objects stuck to their wild caught prey. Heck, I know of captive held BPs that swallow wood chips because of their bedding. I'm not a vet, but I don't think some paper towel is going to do too much. It got washed down with another rat and some water soon.
I have a picture of one of my Burmese pythons swallowing an actual bath towel from my idiot college days. I will see if I can dig it up. Bath towel = yikes. Paper towel = I "personally" wouldn't worry to much.
The thing that worries me about paper towels is when they get wet they expand, right? That could cause impaction. I keep my critters on shredded aspen and don't worry much if they swallow it.
I dont think they expand, but I know they dont break down in water. And i know i didnt get all of it, but i got most of it. And it was kinda comical when i opened the tub about 10 minutes after this happened, she immediately turned and bit the paper towel AGAIN but this time she instantly let go.
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I'm sure this wasn't at all funny when it happened. but it's a leetle bit funny now....
If you got most of it out I think I'd just keep observing her and let nature take it's course. If her feeding bump disappears at a normal rate I think she'd just pass a wodge of paper towel in due course.
My snakes feed on chicks, and they don't digest feathers, they just pass them as is. Makes for a peculiar dropping but doesn't seem to do any harm...
Obviously if she has a lump lasting longer then normal the vet is needed.
Good luck, please keep us posted, as you say - it's different!
Oh, and kudos for having the piece of mind to take a photograph!
If you got most of it out I think I'd just keep observing her and let nature take it's course. If her feeding bump disappears at a normal rate I think she'd just pass a wodge of paper towel in due course.
My snakes feed on chicks, and they don't digest feathers, they just pass them as is. Makes for a peculiar dropping but doesn't seem to do any harm...
Obviously if she has a lump lasting longer then normal the vet is needed.
Good luck, please keep us posted, as you say - it's different!
Oh, and kudos for having the piece of mind to take a photograph!
Figured I would just share what I do as an option to think about depending on the species of snake & how many you keep. For a ton of snakes or some snakes that require high humidity & misting or that eat/poop often it may not work out as well as it has for me. I don't claim to be an expert on anything & know it's not mentioned often in books or care sheets so you'll have to take as use at your own risk but from my experience it's what works best for me. I catch a lot of weird comments when posting photos because I use on the bottom of my enclosure but it just seems to make sense to me. I have 3 boa's all currently in 4x2 enclosures & use indoor/outdoor carpeting on the floors of each. It's the simple, tight, grey stuff that comes in rolled up 6x8 feet pieces & sell's for like 17 bucks. I use a simple wood template to cut out 9-2x2 pieces & use 2 per enclosure, 1 on each side so the entire floor is covered. Everyone has what works best for them & I'm sure someone will have something to say why they wouldn't use it but so far the only thing I experienced is sometimes they snake will get under it but its pretty rare, especially if you add a few extra hides. These are the reason why I found I like it.
- It's pretty cheap when you don't have many snakes but a good size of space to cover
- It looks a whole lot better then new paper, paper towels, or cardboard to me.
- I could wipe up a mess but found it's easy & cheap enough to just swap in a new piece
- I don't have to worry about not seeing any bathroom waste left hidden in bedding
- The water bowl sits flat at all times & though it may slid it don't get knocked over
- Never had any but if I ever did get any unwanted critters I could clearly see them/
- Carpet works better as a divider then paper to prevent burns if using an UTH
- Snakes seem to get better traction on the carpet then other substrate or papers
- Easier to roll up & rubber band to store then having a huge bin of smelly bedding
- I don't worry about snakes accidentally eating it, getting hurt on it, or being uncomfortable.
- I honestly even think it think it help with shedding being softer then other objects.
- It's pretty cheap when you don't have many snakes but a good size of space to cover
- It looks a whole lot better then new paper, paper towels, or cardboard to me.
- I could wipe up a mess but found it's easy & cheap enough to just swap in a new piece
- I don't have to worry about not seeing any bathroom waste left hidden in bedding
- The water bowl sits flat at all times & though it may slid it don't get knocked over
- Never had any but if I ever did get any unwanted critters I could clearly see them/
- Carpet works better as a divider then paper to prevent burns if using an UTH
- Snakes seem to get better traction on the carpet then other substrate or papers
- Easier to roll up & rubber band to store then having a huge bin of smelly bedding
- I don't worry about snakes accidentally eating it, getting hurt on it, or being uncomfortable.
- I honestly even think it think it help with shedding being softer then other objects.
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Outdoor carpet is a good idea. Its very similar to the carpet they sell at retail stores for reptiles. Just a ton cheaper. Do you wash and reuse them or just dispose of them? I use paper towel for a couple reasons, one being that i recently bought a burm only to find out a few days later it had mites. So while its undergoing treatment i have everyone on paper towel because its easy to spot little black bugs on pure white paper towel. Another being I dont really need to worry about aesthetics necause i only have two display tanks one houses an aquatic snake, the other is empty at the moment. The bp,s are housed in homemade melamine racks which arent too pretty in the first place. And lastly theyre cheap ($1 per roll) and a roll will last a week. Theyre also disposable and 6 sheets perfectly lines my 28q tubs witha lot of overlap. So it works for me. Everyone has theyre own way of doing thing, just depends on what works for you.
Excuse the grammar errors, still figuring out the new smartphone lol.
I could probably get by washing them maybe once but I'm a little OCD & find it easier to just dispose of them.
doing a quarantine on any new critter can save a lot of hassle & money in the long run but I know sometimes its hard with space but things sometimes happen.
Best of luck with everything
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I'd like to share an experience I had about fifteen years ago with my pet boa constrictor. I had her is a giant cage with towels as bedding. That's right, towels (I was a stupid kid). Anyway, I threw a large rat in there, left, and returned a few hours later to find the rat gone. What I FAILED to notice was that a GIANT BEACH TOWEL was also gone. My snake became very ill and lethargic and I could not figure out what the hell was going on. And then - she PASSED the towel, tightly packed, with the rat rotting on the inside of it.
I am happy to say, though, she survived the experience - and is still alive today, close to 21 years old. But I never used towels again. Now, paper towels? I bet your snake will be fine. Just watch her closely.
I am happy to say, though, she survived the experience - and is still alive today, close to 21 years old. But I never used towels again. Now, paper towels? I bet your snake will be fine. Just watch her closely.
Thank you guys for all the advice, so far she seems fine but i will keep an eye on her.