A greedy pet python was saved by a vet after swallowing a beach towel.
The horrifying moment the towel was pulled from the snake’s throat was filmed by the team at the Small Animal Specialist Hospital (Sash) in Sydney.
Monty, an 18-year-old jungle python, was taken to the vet the day after her owner suspected she had eaten something she shouldn’t have.
Monty Python and The Missing Beach Towel
? ? Monty Python and The Missing Beach Towel? We see all kinds of interesting cases in our Avian and Exotics Department, but it’s not every day we see something quite as unusual and as extraordinary as this case. Monty is an 18 year old Female Jungle Carpet Python weighing 5 kg and 3m long, who presented to Dr Olivia Clarke at our Avian and Exotics Department at SASH after she was seen eating an entire beach towel the night before! Monty was anaesthetised and radiographs were taken to confirm the location of the start of the towel.A flexible endoscope was placed down Monty’s gastrointestinal tract, which allowed us to visualise the end of the towel sitting in her stomach. With assistance from our internal medicine team, very long forceps were placed through the endoscope and used to grasp the towel. Once we had a good grip, the towel was able to be carefully removed from the gastrointestinal tract with endoscopic guidance. It was smiles all round and we’re happy to report that both Monty and the beach towel have lived to see another day! Monty was discharged from hospital the same day and her owner reports she is back to her happy, hungry self.
Posted by SASH – Small Animal Specialist Hospital on Sunday, February 23, 2020
A flexible endoscope was placed down Monty’s gastrointestinal tract, to allow the vets to see the end of the towel sitting in her stomach.
A spokeswoman for Sash said: “The snake ate the towel of her own accord. She has never done anything like this before.
“This was a life-saving procedure. If we had not been able to remove the towel, Monty would not have survived.”
Monty has recovered well and is now back to eating normally.
