My BP died inexplicably and I'm crushed... any ideas?

My beautiful spider ball python is dead and I have no idea why. He was fine just last night. I had him out, I was handling him, he was happy and active as ever... He had shown absolutely no signs that anything was wrong. He was eating fine. He lived in a rack system that holds several other BPs that are still fine... the temps and humidity were normal. I've had him for a year, and I've never seen anything out of the ordinary.

I checked on him just now and found him dead with a strange lump right by the vent. he was fine less than 12 hours ago.

http://i36.tinypic.com/1o0i1d.jpg

http://i37.tinypic.com/rhl6og.jpg

http://i38.tinypic.com/opbe5j.jpg

I am not a breeder... I have several morphs, and I was going to do amateur breeding eventually, but he was above all my pet. And I loved him dearly, and I always tried to take perfect care of him... This was so sudden and I have no idea what happened.

Does anyone know? Are my other snakes in danger? Any insight would be great, because... I just know what happened, and I feel like absolute crap. I loved him so much.

Oh my god that's terrible. However you should take his body to your vet for a necropsy to make sure your other snakes aren't at risk.

I am very sorry for your loss. It appears like he has alot of wood beeding impacted and it must have caused severe internal problems. He looked like a beautiful spider and again I am so sorry.

I am SO sorry for your loss! :( What kind of substrate do you keep them on? It looks like he was trying to pass something that he could not. :(

I am sorry for your loss, your spider looked nice!

Looks to me too, that it was trying to pass something out, & it couldn't. I hope you get some answers.

Thanks... It's aspen. I thought that a lot of people used aspen and it was safe. I got it at a snake show, actually, and I've never seen anything to indicate that it was dangerous. If I'd known at all that this could happen, I would've used something different... I guess I thought if it was a problem, so many people wouldn't use it... and that a creature whose stomach could digest bones wouldn't have a problem with the little bits of substrate that got on the mice.

The weird thing is, the last time I fed them was a week ago and he acted completely fine even last night.

I just don't even know. This is so terrible. He was so beautiful and I loved him so much. Had I gotten even the slightest indication that anything was wrong at all, I would've taken him to the vet immediately.

Did you notice that swelling when you were handling him? Unfortunately there is no way to say definitively why he passed except by having a necropsy done. If you would like to go that route, be sure to put the body in the refrigerator and contact a vet as soon as possible on Monday.

I'm deeply sorry for your loss.

Aspen is certainly considered safe and you shouldn't feel bad for having used it or blame yourself. Is it an option to take him to a vet for a necropsy? Were I in your shoes, I'd definitely be wanting some answers....as difficult as they might be to obtain. I've heard of people doing their own amateur necropsies as well....but I don't think I'd have the stomach for something like that. :(

I'm so sorry!

Was the wood just stuck to him or was it coming out of his vent? Looks fresh and not like it has gone through his digestive cycle. A lot of folks use aspen and they can ingest a little bit with their food and it shouldn't cause a problem.

I will do that, I think, if it's the only way to know.

I can't help but blame myself at least a little. I can't help but feel like I did something wrong, because he was barely a year old. I just wish I knew, so that it never happens again. And I guess the only way to do that is to do the necropsy. I'll find someone tomorrow, I guess.

But yes, he was on aspen, and he only ate mice. I don't know what could've happened.