I have been feeding my ball pythons on thier substrate for about 4 feedings now until I noticed that since my male eats so feircley, he sometimes gets some of the T-Rex Forest Bed substrate in his mouth, he is passing fecals so there for he doesn't have impaction but I'm worried he could maybe get it. Also what happens if he gets it in his mouth and doesn't swallow it, will he get mouth rot? I am now feeding in tubs just to be safe!
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Question...........
OneTwoManyHerps
May 22, 2003 09:20 PM
Replies (1)
serpentcity
May 22, 2003 09:37 PM
...an excellent question.
The specimen COULD become impacted but is HIGHLY unlikely. Incidentally, the calcium-based substrates on the market claim they can't cause inpaction but that is FALSE advertising.
Now, in this case the bedding could cause abrasions in the oral mucosa and if they become infected it could lead to mouth rot. It is a good practice to feed in a different tub if it doesn't disturb the snakes. I use a heavy grade of paper cage liner as my substrate to avoid these problems.
Scott J. Michaels DVM
