How to tell if ur ball python is choking on shavings an what would cause one to jerk every so often

Question

How to tell if ur ball python is choking on shavings an what would cause one to jerk every so often

Answer 1

I have never seen a snake "choke" there is little they can't swallow and it its to big they will spit it back out. They have a special "tube" in the bottom of their mouth to let them breath while swallowing. Don't worry if he eats a few shavings, it happens all the time in the wild, they are capable of digesting it. As far as jerking, I need a little more description, but its probably just a reflex reaction of some type.

Answer 2

a couple shavings especially if using aspen should be alright to ingest. as far as shaking i was talking to my reptile expert the other day when one of his green tree boas was twitching and he said they twitch to incubate eggs and if you take them away they will continue to twitch. so maybe you have one about to lay eggs?

Answer 3

It may not choke it but it can certainly be and irratent to the snake, if this happens alot i would switch to a newspaper substrate.