Vote for BP.Net for the 2013 Forum of the Year! Click here for more info.

» Site Navigation

» Home
 > FAQ

» Online Users: 764

0 members and 764 guests
No Members online
Most users ever online was 47,180, 07-16-2025 at 05:30 PM.

» Today's Birthdays

None

» Stats

Members: 75,905
Threads: 249,104
Posts: 2,572,097
Top Poster: JLC (31,651)
Welcome to our newest member, Pattyhud
Page 1 of 2 12 LastLast
Results 1 to 10 of 17
  1. #1
    BPnet Veteran Ash's Avatar
    Join Date
    07-09-2009
    Location
    Southern California
    Posts
    377
    Thanks
    42
    Thanked 89 Times in 61 Posts

    Snake died suddenly, why?

    We had a breeding pair of het pieds being kept at my boyfriend's house in a rack. The rack is in an insulated shed heated by a radiatior. The ambient temp in there is kept at 80 degrees, and their hot spot is 90.

    They were last paired about three weeks ago, and they locked. Neither has been eating for the past two months, but we figured it was seasonal. They are checked on every day and handled frequently.

    My boyfriend says he tried to feed the male this morning, handled him, and he seemed normal. Tongue flickering, moving actively, clear pink mouth and nostrils (he pulls down the lower lip to check inside their mouths). That was at 7 AM this morning.

    At 7 o'clock this evening, he came home from school and checked on them again. The shed smelled awful and he found the male het dead. The paper towel substrate was covered in blood, black sludge and brown fluid. The snake was upside down and limp, not yet in rigor.

    When my boyfriend picked him up, clear fluid ran out of his mouth, and later pinkish orange slime came out. The blood appeared to be coming from his cloaca, which looks to me like it's torn. He was flimsy throughout his body, but was stiff near his cloaca.

    We're terrified that whatever this is might be contagious and will spread to our female. She appears completely healthy, but so did the male this morning. This was completely out of the blue. We removed his dirty drawer and scrubbed down all the others very well, gave her fresh water. Does it sound like any illness/problem that any of you have experienced before? We still have the male's body in the freezer, and may get a necropsy done. :'(
    0.1 07 Normal "Bigsnake"
    1.0 08 Lesser "Congo"
    1.0 12 Piebald "Pixel"

  2. #2
    No One of Consequence wilomn's Avatar
    Join Date
    05-18-2007
    Posts
    5,063
    Thanks
    123
    Thanked 2,795 Times in 1,171 Posts
    Images: 109
    Take it out of the freezer and put it in the fridge. Freezing makes some determinations impossible.

    Sounds like he got injured somehow or overheated. Did you check temps?
    I may not be very smart, but what if I am?
    Stinky says, "Women should be obscene but not heard." Stinky is one smart man.
    www.humanewatch.org

  3. #3
    BPnet Veteran Ash's Avatar
    Join Date
    07-09-2009
    Location
    Southern California
    Posts
    377
    Thanks
    42
    Thanked 89 Times in 61 Posts

    Re: Snake died suddenly, why?

    We have a herpstat pro which is running perfectly. Directly against the heat rope is 90 degrees, and with a temp gun the plastic is measured to be about 88 degrees on the hot spot. The radiator has a thermostat set to 78 degrees which leads to the ambient temp being 80. Is that too hot?
    0.1 07 Normal "Bigsnake"
    1.0 08 Lesser "Congo"
    1.0 12 Piebald "Pixel"

  4. #4
    No One of Consequence wilomn's Avatar
    Join Date
    05-18-2007
    Posts
    5,063
    Thanks
    123
    Thanked 2,795 Times in 1,171 Posts
    Images: 109
    Not too hot. It's just that the degree of decomposition you describe is often brought on by high heat. They don't usually rot that fast.
    I may not be very smart, but what if I am?
    Stinky says, "Women should be obscene but not heard." Stinky is one smart man.
    www.humanewatch.org

  5. #5
    BPnet Veteran Ash's Avatar
    Join Date
    07-09-2009
    Location
    Southern California
    Posts
    377
    Thanks
    42
    Thanked 89 Times in 61 Posts

    Re: Snake died suddenly, why?

    I think the rotten smell was the black sludge and blood etc. He hadn't been dead for long, he was still all floppy
    0.1 07 Normal "Bigsnake"
    1.0 08 Lesser "Congo"
    1.0 12 Piebald "Pixel"

  6. #6
    BPnet Veteran KatStoverReptiles's Avatar
    Join Date
    01-01-2011
    Location
    Belleville, IL
    Posts
    1,388
    Thanks
    343
    Thanked 550 Times in 446 Posts
    I'm sorry for your loss. Maybe contact a herp vet in your area and see if he/she can shed some light on the situation. Hopefully your lock was successful and you have beautiful babies to remember him by.

  7. #7
    Registered User LizardPants's Avatar
    Join Date
    02-08-2011
    Posts
    394
    Thanks
    101
    Thanked 85 Times in 62 Posts
    Your method of controlled heating sounds good. However your profile states that you're from SoCal (which gets HOT). So I ask, do you have any method to cool the shed automatically?
    Last edited by LizardPants; 03-30-2011 at 01:54 AM.

  8. #8
    BPnet Veteran Blubb's Avatar
    Join Date
    03-09-2011
    Location
    Sweden
    Posts
    228
    Thanks
    22
    Thanked 30 Times in 30 Posts
    I'm sorry for your lost. Contact a vet, they will probably help you.

  9. #9
    BPnet Veteran Ash's Avatar
    Join Date
    07-09-2009
    Location
    Southern California
    Posts
    377
    Thanks
    42
    Thanked 89 Times in 61 Posts

    Re: Snake died suddenly, why?

    Quote Originally Posted by LizardPants View Post
    Your method of controlled heating sounds good. However your profile states that you're from SoCal (which gets HOT). So I ask, do you have any method to cool the shed automatically?
    The shed is in the shade of two trees. During the heat of the summer, the ambient temp did get up to the high 80's. We just turned off the heat when it got very hot. Since it's only March, the highest temperature has been in the 70's for the past few months.
    0.1 07 Normal "Bigsnake"
    1.0 08 Lesser "Congo"
    1.0 12 Piebald "Pixel"

  10. #10
    BPnet Lifer Simple Man's Avatar
    Join Date
    12-17-2007
    Location
    Tacoma, Washington, United States
    Posts
    2,856
    Thanks
    1,802
    Thanked 1,348 Times in 1,016 Posts
    Images: 240
    When's the last time you actually saw the animal? Could your boyfriend be giving you a line about when he checked them last? I'm not too familiar with conditions but I've never heard anything like that happen in a few hours. Something just doesn't add up. I'm sorry to hear about your loss.

    Regards,

    B

Page 1 of 2 12 LastLast

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •  
Powered by vBadvanced CMPS v4.2.1