A 10-foot-long, 18-year-old pet python from Sydney, Australia named Monty was taken to the hospital after its owner suspected the snake swallowed an entire beach towel that was laying around the house.
The snake was taken to the Small Animal Specialist Hospital in Sydney where Dr. Olivia Clarke in the Avian and Exotics Department suggested they do a full extraction of the towel.
In order to remove the towel from the snake’s belly a few things had to be done. First and foremost, the vets had to use radiographs to confirm that it was actually a beach towel as the owner suggested. It was, and using the radiographs they were able to find the exact location of the towel.
The next thing they did was to anesthetize the snake so it wouldn’t move or bite down during the procedure. With a flexible endoscope that allowed Dr. Olivia Clarke to see down the snake’s throat and find the towel, she carefully grabbed the towel with forceps placed on the end of the endoscope.
She pulled on the towel while the other vets in the room held the snake’s mouth open and another held the snake’s body down. Everything was recorded, from the camera on the inside of the snake’s belly to the cameras recording the doctors removing the towel from the outside. The doctors did a flawless job and everyone smiled with relief when it was done.
“It was smiles all round and we’re happy to report that both Monty and the beach towel have lived to see another day!” SASH wrote in their Facebook post. “Monty was discharged from hospital the same day and her owner reports she is back to her happy, hungry self.”