Cause of death: fatty/ failed liver

[Melissuhhh]

New Years day, afternoon I checked my snakes and found a pastel that I hatched in 2012 coiled and dead. I was/ am confused about the whole ordeal because nothing in husbandry had changed and she ate a small rat on the 17th of December and skipped the last two meals. No noticeable issues or complications, just dead. So today I got a necropsy done and the vet said everything looked great except for the liver. Vet said it was very pale (normally supposed to be mahogany color) and it was also swollen. She also stated that the snake was obese and there was fat in the liver. This particular snake is 2+ years about 4+ feet and weighs 1450gs, so I wouldn't think obese?

I'm very glad that it's nothing contagious and wasn't something I did directly, but it sucks. I was wondering if anyone has input on the situation? Should I slow down my feelings? Any other thoughts would be greatly appreciated. Thank you.

[Mr. Misha]

I'm sorry to hear that. It's always hard to loose a pet. It's even harder to loose one that you hatched yourself. How often were you feeding your BP and what size of meals was she taking?

[Skiploder]

New Years day, afternoon I checked my snakes and found a pastel that I hatched in 2012 coiled and dead. I was/ am confused about the whole ordeal because nothing in husbandry had changed and she ate a small rat on the 17th of December and skipped the last two meals. No noticeable issues or complications, just dead. So today I got a necropsy done and the vet said everything looked great except for the liver. Vet said it was very pale (normally supposed to be mahogany color) and it was also swollen. She also stated that the snake was obese and there was fat in the liver. This particular snake is 2+ years about 4+ feet and weighs 1450gs, so I wouldn't think obese?

I'm very glad that it's nothing contagious and wasn't something I did directly, but it sucks. I was wondering if anyone has input on the situation? Should I slow down my feelings? Any other thoughts would be greatly appreciated. Thank you.

I am sorry for your loss. I do however applaud you on getting a necropsy done. While they can be expensive, the hobby collectively gets smarter when we know why our snakes die.

We have started another thread in the general herp section regarding dietary requirements - namely questioning what is commonly recommended and comparing it to studies that may contradict the common wisdom.

[Melissuhhh]

I'm sorry to hear that. It's always hard to loose a pet. It's even harder to loose one that you hatched yourself. How often were you feeding your BP and what size of meals was she taking?

Thank you. I offer once a week, generally small rats that are maybe a month older then weaned. Sometimes I offer leftovers to snakes that did eat to get rid of the rats but usually they won't take more then 2 in a day.

[Melissuhhh]

I am sorry for your loss. I do however applaud you on getting a necropsy done. While they can be expensive, the hobby collectively gets smarter when we know why our snakes die.

We have started another thread in the general herp section regarding dietary requirements - namely questioning what is commonly recommended and comparing it to studies that may contradict the common wisdom.

Thank you very much. I just needed to know what the necropsy unveiled since nothing was obviously wrong. I will look into that thread since this has had me thinking a lot about their diet.

[Skiploder]

Thank you very much. I just needed to know what the necropsy unveiled since nothing was obviously wrong. I will look into that thread since this has had me thinking a lot about their diet.

Fatty liver is , for lack of a better word, a "lifestyle" disease.

Sadly, we tell people to feed X% of the body mass every X days and feed one type of prey item only.

We do not take into account the amount of activity that wild snakes engage in with respects to hunting, denning. mating, escaping fires, predators, etc.and compare it to the lack of inactivity in the tub.

...and we do not take into account variety in their diet.

...I think we are all guilty of it to a certain degree and that we should openly discussing what steps we should take to address it.

I've lost snakes to "lifestyle" disease...a lot of other people have but do not know it because they do not perform necropsies.

[Melissuhhh]

Fatty liver is , for lack of a better word, a "lifestyle" disease.

Sadly, we tell people to feed X% of the body mass every X days and feed one type of prey item only.

We do not take into account the amount of activity that wild snakes engage in with respects to hunting, denning. mating, escaping fires, predators, etc.and compare it to the lack of inactivity in the tub.

...and we do not take into account variety in their diet.

...I think we are all guilty of it to a certain degree and that we should openly discussing what steps we should take to address it.

I've lost snakes to "lifestyle" disease...a lot of other people have but do not know it because they do not perform necropsies.

This is what the vet told me more or less, and it's a scary realization. I do take my snakes out occasionally but I will make it more of regular occurrence. it's such a waste of a loss that can't be justified. Thanks for the response, talking to someone about it definitely helps.

[salt]

Thank you for posting your story. Strange question but do you have any pictures of her before she passed? I'd like to know what body shape to keep an eye out for.