Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I must say, I have never heard of this happening before, so I have no idea what to do. I fed one of my 2003 boas last night and she took the rat with no problem. I checked on her before I went to bed and everything was fine. The f/t rat was gone and she was resting on the warm side of the cage. This morning, I was completely stunned when I looked in on her. She was still resting on the warm side, but the two papertowels that I had in there as substrate were completely gone. She actually ate the paper towels.

Needless to say, I am very worried. I plan to take her to a vet as soon as they open. Do you think they will pass, or do you think I could try to cause a regurge? Or do you think they need to be removed surgically?

Thanks for any help,
Matt Crabe

That is definitely a vet's call. I would *think* that paper towels would be digestable though. Consult your vet and see what they think. I would caution against trying to cause her to regurge yourself because you don't want to risk injuring the snake. As for hearing about it before, I once read about a burmese python that tried to eat the bath towel the owner had in it's cage after being fed a rabbit on it. It hadn't completely swallowed the towel when it was discovered and, with some help, they were able to remove the towel. Best of luck and keep us updated.

Raven

Sorry could not resist, I don't think it will be a problem, but check see what the vet says. It should be digested fairly easily, after all bones are not a problem. Good luck and let us know how it turns out. Craig

I am concerned because she is not that big - only a little over two feet long and she ate two paper towels. She looks stuffed.
Pete Kahl has been nice enough to call his vet for me since mine is out of town until Wednesday. I'm still waiting to here back. This is my arabesque het albino female that I just got a few weeks ago, so I am super nervous right now.
I'll keep you all posted. This is just the weirdest thing.

Thanks for the replies,
Matt Crabe

Matt,
. I had a baby Blood Python swallow a paper towel once. I was keeping her in a plastic sweater box with paper towel substrate. I actually did not know she had swallowed a paper towel until she puked it up with the fuzzy rat she had eaten a few days earlier.
Good luck,
Jeff

>>I am concerned because she is not that big - only a little over two feet long and she ate two paper towels. She looks stuffed.
>>Pete Kahl has been nice enough to call his vet for me since mine is out of town until Wednesday. I'm still waiting to here back. This is my arabesque het albino female that I just got a few weeks ago, so I am super nervous right now.
>>I'll keep you all posted. This is just the weirdest thing.
>>
>>Thanks for the replies,
>>Matt Crabe
>>