Corns mysterious death

My Friends corn snake Doug died today. He was only a month or 2 old. We are not sure what killed him. his eyes were dried up and sucked into his head so we assume he was dead for a few hours before we found him. He also has a greenish clump in his body... Is that what killed him? What is the green mass? How could he of died?

heres a pic of the green stuff. http://img15.imageshack.us/i/imag0094t.jpg/

Well, since no one else has responded I'll give it my best shot. From the pic, it looks like he could have had a blockage or impaction of some sort. Did he feed him in his enclosure? And what kind of bedding was he keeping him on? He could have accidentally swallowed some bedding, or something else could have happened while he was digesting that could have blocked his intestines. I'm not sure though, and I could be completely wrong.

Also, I'm pretty sure I saw another post a couple months ago where someone mentioned that when they die their kidneys (?) turn greenish, so that could be it too. I tried searching for the post and couldn't find it, but I think it was something like that.

I'm sorry for your friend though :( It's always sad when an animal passes away, but when they die suddenly and for no apparent reason it's even harder.

The green mass is not anything that killed the corn snake.
It is the snake's liver literally swelling and pressing against the sides of the abdomen due to putrefaction. This happens post-mortem in almost all, if not all, creatures.
A greenish skin discoloration is the first sign of putrefaction, and it is caused by sulfur-containing intestinal gas and the breaking down of red blood cells. A foul smell often accompanies this phase of post-mortem.
Because the body is filling with gas, this causes parts of the body to swell, especially organs such as the liver. It turns the skin from green, to purple and black in the end.
It's the beginning of a long process--decomposition.
I'm sorry your snake passed away. :( The only way to find out why it died is a possibly expensive necropsy, and this can only be done if you refrigerated--not froze--the body shortly after death.
At the time your photo was taken, I think a necropsy could have been possible, or at least a partial one, but by now it is most likely too late.
I'm so sorry about your snake, again, and I hope this helps explain some things.
Shellie

Quote:

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Originally Posted by shelliebear

The green mass is not anything that killed the corn snake. It is the snake's liver literally swelling and pressing against the sides of the abdomen due to putrefaction. This happens post-mortem in almost all, if not all, creatures.

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I knew I saw it somewhere! Just couldn't remember if it was the kidneys or the liver. Thanks for explaining it again.

I'm so sorry for your friends loss

thanks for the help guys. its good to know that people care and tired to find out. :)

Unfortunately sometimes these things just happen. Even with perfect husbandry and an outwardly healthy snake they can unexpectedly die. It happens to everyone, especially if you breed snakes.

Sorry for your friend's loss.