Mysterious snake death - dangerous substances?

[igoopy]

Hey guys.

I just got off the phone from a friend of mine whose garter snake has just died mysteriously. She came back today to find it lying upside-down with its belly entirely red. The vets diagnoses is that it had swallowed a piece of ASPEN which had cut it internally and it had bled to death.

Aside from the fact that this is a very sad story, I currenly use aspen as the substrate in my tank for my BP. Should we be worried about using aspen?

[Adam_Wysocki]

The vets diagnoses is that it had swallowed a piece of ASPEN which had cut it internally and it had bled to death.

Did the vet actually perform a necropsy and find the alleged point of hemorrhage or is the "bled to death" thing just a theory?

In 25 years, a snake internally bleeding to death on a piece of bedding would be a first for me ... I've had animals cut internally before by rodent teeth, bones, and claws, and they don't bleed to death ... Sure, I guess if an airplane can crash into a house, it could happen, but I don't think that it's likely.

-adam

[Shelby]

Many people who keep many many snakes use aspen.. that story sounds a little fishy. I suppose it is possible that that really did the snake in, but aspen is a very common substrate for snakes. It is safe.. generally when they ingest it, it just passes through the digestive tract. After all, wild snakes don't eat on paper.

[igoopy]

I suspected as much. However I wonder what this snake could have died from, the vet did not perform a necropsy just told her what "must have happened".


Id hate to find my snake like that

[daniel1983]

You also have to consider the size of the snake. Garter snakes are slinder in comparison to most other snakes. A ball python swallowing a piece of aspen and a garter snake swallowing a piece of aspen are two completely different situations IMO. Most snakes can handle swallowing substrate just fine....after all, they don't eat off of clean plates in the wild.

How big was the garter snake and how long had she been keeping it?

[Adam_Wysocki]

the vet did not perform a necropsy just told her what "must have happened".

In my humble opinion, that is a completely irresponsible thing for the vet to do.

-adam

[cassandra]

I'm sorry your friend lost the garter snake; losing pets is so very hard. =(

But, I agree with Adam...

In my humble opinion, that is a completely irresponsible thing for the vet to do.

Doesn't sound like the vet did the right thing....and aspen is hugely popular for many long time breeder and snake keepers.

[igoopy]

well then - just say aspen did not cause the death in this instance - what could have caused it?

Does the dark red belly indicate internal bleeding? should I advise my friend to take it back to the vet for a thorough examination before introducing a new snake into the same environment?

[Shelby]

Red belly could indicate a burn I think.. what is your friend using to heat the tank? ..and how long did they have the snake.. where did they get it?

[cassandra]

I'm no expert, but to know for sure, a necropsy would be in order, I think, and perhaps a better vet. Certainly sanitize or throw away everything the deceased animal touched to ensure that if the garter had something spreadable, the contamination is eliminated.

*edit*
Ooh, April's answer is better. See, me != expert.