Snake died suddenly, why?

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Originally Posted by Simple Man

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

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I actually saw the snake about two weeks ago, but I 100% believe he is being sincere. He takes meticulous care of them and keeps detailed records of what goes on. He tells me about every little issue that might become problematic and seemed legitimately shocked that he went south so quickly.

One bizarre thing he told me about (that I think is unrelated, but is still interesting) is that a few weeks ago he attempted to feed the male het a live rat, and he bit it but didn't constrict. Over the next few days the rat's hair fell out in a circular patch where he was bitten, and now has grown back sparsely. We've never seen that happen before.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Simple Man

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

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I was wondering the same thing. Keep in mind that rigor mortis goes away. So it takes a little bit for it to set in and then it dissipates over time. With humans rigor sets in after 3 hours and you stiffen till about hour 12 and then it gradually dissipates for the next 60 hours. The advancement of rigor is hastened by heat. Its possible the snake had gone into rigor and come out of rigor by the time it was found.

I have had a female die suddenly , but was nothing like what you are explaining. The only thing you can do really is go to get a necropsy. Freezing is bad if you want one done so always refrigerate. And I beleive you have to get the deceased to the vet asap so he has it as fresh as possible. I had to Fedex overnight that female I lost to my vet specifically bc there was no way i could drive out there the day I lost her. He had said I needed to get her there by 24 hours. I'm sorry for your loss that's horrible. Idk what would affect a snake within 24 hours. The only thing you can do is qt that girl and watch everyone. I'm sorry.
Morgan

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Originally Posted by Homegrownscales

I have had a female die suddenly , but was nothing like what you are explaining. The only thing you can do really is go to get a necropsy. Freezing is bad if you want one done so always refrigerate. And I beleive you have to get the deceased to the vet asap so he has it as fresh as possible. I had to Fedex overnight that female I lost to my vet specifically bc there was no way i could drive out there the day I lost her. He had said I needed to get her there by 24 hours. I'm sorry for your loss that's horrible. Idk what would affect a snake within 24 hours. The only thing you can do is qt that girl and watch everyone. I'm sorry.
Morgan

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In that case I think we'll just throw it out. The smell was awful so we've had him in the freezer and it's been quite a while. Ugh... I doubt there's much more we could do to prevent the female from getting sick, anyway.

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Originally Posted by Egapal

I was wondering the same thing. Keep in mind that rigor mortis goes away. So it takes a little bit for it to set in and then it dissipates over time. With humans rigor sets in after 3 hours and you stiffen till about hour 12 and then it gradually dissipates for the next 60 hours. The advancement of rigor is hastened by heat. Its possible the snake had gone into rigor and come out of rigor by the time it was found.

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I don't think rigor mortis would have gone away that soon if it had been able to set in.

I'm really sorry for your loss though, and thats bizarre about the rat losing hair. While they may not be able to do a full necropsy, if there is some serious viral infection or something of the type, would they not be able to test for it with the remains that are left?

While you may not be able to do anything if your other snakes are also affected, you may still want to at least speak with a vet and see what they may recommend.

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Originally Posted by lk_holla

I don't think rigor mortis would have gone away that soon if it had been able to set in.

I'm really sorry for your loss though, and thats bizarre about the rat losing hair. While they may not be able to do a full necropsy, if there is some serious viral infection or something of the type, would they not be able to test for it with the remains that are left?

While you may not be able to do anything if your other snakes are also affected, you may still want to at least speak with a vet and see what they may recommend.

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I was referring to the post that "Simple Man" had made. Rigor should not go away after 12 hours. That being said if the Boyfriend was lying (Good people lie all the time out of fear and guilt) and he had not checked on the snake since say 7pm the day before? I think, although I am not an expert, that the rigor could have gone away in 24 hours if snake was dead on the hide side of the enclosure. Again I am not calling the boyfriend a lier. I am merely suggesting a scenario where rigor could have past to explain the apparent advanced state of decay.

Yes i agree you should check him to a specialist and i really feel bad to hear about your loss.