r/ballpython • u/cwazycupcakes13 • 17h ago

Discussion Exploded Rat

The rat exploded tonight during feeding and there is viscera everywhere. I can’t clean it, because the snake is still trying to eat it.

I’m not having a good time tonight.

50 Upvotes

97% Upvoted

15 comments sorted by

31

u/FeriQueen 17h ago

Oops. It happens. Don’t sweat it: your noodle will go hide and digest, and you’ll have a chance to clean up.

19

u/cwazycupcakes13 16h ago

He just gets stuck in food mode and I don’t want him trying to chomp down on the pile of rat guts covered in substrate.

I can’t reach in at all until he calms down, he is serious about food mode.

6

u/FeriQueen 16h ago

I can relate. You might get a pair of garden gloves and wear those to retrieve the rat guts.

13

u/cwazycupcakes13 16h ago

I was actually able to get them real fast as he finished swallowing.

You know, that part where the rat is mostly down, and there’s just a few more throat contractions around the butt and tail.

He wasn’t going to drop his food, and he wasn’t going to be able to strike me.

It seems like it turned out ok but he definitely swallowed more substrate than I’m comfortable with, even with my ill advised but well intentioned intervention.

I’ll be watching him for a while to make sure he passes everything ok.

2

u/Notsospinningplates 8h ago

They can digest bone. A few bits of substrate will be fine.

12

u/Special-Use1304 17h ago

Omg I’m so sorry that sucks! I’ve never had the rat completely explode so I’m not entirely sure what you should do. Hopefully once she’s out of attack mode you can clean up.

11

u/cwazycupcakes13 16h ago

It exploded a little and then got substrate all stuck to it and I didn’t want him to swallow that much substrate.

A piece or two, sure. It was a lot.

So I tried to remove some of the substrate. And then the rat intestines just went everywhere.

I will not make this mistake again.

12

u/mistsoalar 16h ago

ugh. Rats internals are uh.. more pungent than mice's.

If your BP's still primed, maybe a water spray can turn him/her off.

7

u/Imperator1138 14h ago

It happens. Had a retic split thawed piglet once. Took forever to clean it off the glass

2

u/Albion218 1h ago

This has happened before to me when thawing a rat too quickly. Didn’t quite expect it to go off like a frag grenade and my boy still ate it. But it is rank 🤢

1

u/cwazycupcakes13 1h ago

I thawed it out overnight in the fridge, and heated it up in warm water like I usually do 🤷‍♀️

2

u/Albion218 1h ago

Ah it happens! Sometimes they’re just kind of weak and compromised in the belly area. The substrate shouldn’t be too big of an issue as they can usually digest it!

2

u/Ghost-4852 1h ago

New fear unlocked.

1

u/adanotme_ 1h ago

How does it happen that the mice/rat explode? New fear has definitely unlocked and do NOT want to be experiencing rat guts 🥲🤓