Snake regurgitates tennis ball after mistaking it for food

A python in Queensland, Australia, got quite a scratchy surprise when the 5-foot-long (1.5 meters) snake gulped down a tennis ball this week. Luckily for the reptile, veterinarians were able to remove the sporting good before the python starved to death.

"[The snake] would've died eventually from starvation, as it wouldn't have been able to digest the ball or have anything pass it," Trish Prendergast, senior vet nurse at Townsville Veterinary Clinic, where the ball was removed, told Live Science.

She massaged the snake's body while keeping constant pressure on the bottom of the ball. Finally, after about 20 minutes, the snake regurgitated the ball. The snake is doing great, she said, adding that it was fed today (Feb. 9) and will be released back into the wild next week.

Source: http://www.livescience.com/57823-australian-python-ingests-tennis-ball.html