diff --git a/panda/src/putil/bamReader.cxx b/panda/src/putil/bamReader.cxx
index b6ded7b654..1230bbc9a6 100644
--- a/panda/src/putil/bamReader.cxx
+++ b/panda/src/putil/bamReader.cxx
@@ -1214,6 +1214,11 @@ p_read_object() {
     }
 
     return p_read_object();
+
+  default:
+    bam_cat.error()
+      << "Encountered invalid BamObjectCode 0x" << hex << (int)boc << dec << ".\n";
+    return 0;
   }
 
   // An object definition in a Bam file consists of a TypeHandle