Suddent Death?

So I am on Vacation, and I had just left my little girl Pumpkin with my Grandparents for the weekend. And last night, m little girl just suddenly died. She was only a month and 12 days old. :(
But I'm just wondering if it was like a birth defect or cancer that could of caused this, or a genetic that is passed down from the parents.
I am almost devastated by this. I really loved her. D:
:snake:

Without a necropsy, it's almost impossible to say. At only 6 weeks old, it could be lots of things, but if she had been eating regularly, it's not as likely to be a birth defect or genetic. Cancer wouldn't seem to be an issue at such a young age either.

Most common cause for sudden death that I've seen has been overheating. In Florida we've been getting extremely hot lately, so you'd want to look at where the tank was, what sort of heat source were you using, etc. If the tank was where sunlight was hitting it, it could overheat very quickly. Yesterday here it was 100F, so that would have killed a baby ball if I had one without AC, for instance.

COULD it be something else? Of course. But you'd want to look at MOST LIKELY causes first. Just my opinion of course, but I don't know the particulars of your set up. What size enclosure, how often had she eaten, how were you heating it, was there AC/what was house temps, etc etc. But all of it would just be speculation, because I'm not there, didn't see the snake or set up or know what the ambiant area is like.

Sorry for your loss.

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Originally Posted by wolfy-hound

Without a necropsy, it's almost impossible to say. At only 6 weeks old, it could be lots of things, but if she had been eating regularly, it's not as likely to be a birth defect or genetic. Cancer wouldn't seem to be an issue at such a young age either.

Most common cause for sudden death that I've seen has been overheating. In Florida we've been getting extremely hot lately, so you'd want to look at where the tank was, what sort of heat source were you using, etc. If the tank was where sunlight was hitting it, it could overheat very quickly. Yesterday here it was 100F, so that would have killed a baby ball if I had one without AC, for instance.

COULD it be something else? Of course. But you'd want to look at MOST LIKELY causes first. Just my opinion of course, but I don't know the particulars of your set up. What size enclosure, how often had she eaten, how were you heating it, was there AC/what was house temps, etc etc. But all of it would just be speculation, because I'm not there, didn't see the snake or set up or know what the ambiant area is like.

Sorry for your loss.

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I live in Florida as well, but she is in the shade and her temp is only at 85-90, I never let it go up to 95 or higher. She just ate a fuzzy like two weeks before she died. She didn't take the other one that I gave her because she began to shed. And its a 20 long, and that big for a baby BP.

Sorry about your loss, sometimes life just isn't fair...:(

:( So sorry about your loss! Loosing any pet, new or old is always very hard.

If you ever decide to own a ball python again in the future, make sure all of your husbandry is spot on!

I also have a feeling it was heat related. Were you using digital thermometers?

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Originally Posted by Kaorte

:( So sorry about your loss! Loosing any pet, new or old is always very hard.

If you ever decide to own a ball python again in the future, make sure all of your husbandry is spot on!

I also have a feeling it was heat related. Were you using digital thermometers?

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No I wasn't using a digital thermometer, I'm probably getting one soon though. Money is kind of hard right now.
But do digital thermometers work better then original?

I've heard of them being ten or more degrees off when checked with a digital or a temp gun. Maybe keep your setup as is if it won't affect your other snakes and see if that was an issue.

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Originally Posted by Less.pancakes

No I wasn't using a digital thermometer, I'm probably getting one soon though. Money is kind of hard right now.
But do digital thermometers work better then original?

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The difference between digital and analog thermometers is night and day. Many of those round dials are calibrated poorly and don't respond at all to temperature fluctuation. Thus making them up to 10* off in either direction.

Digital thermometers aren't expensive. Many users here (myself included) swear by the accurite digital weather station. It is sold at almost all home depots and walmarts and sometimes at lowes. It is generally around $10-12. It measures temperature with a probe and humidity and temperature at the unit making it an all in one device. :)

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Originally Posted by Kaorte

The difference between digital and analog thermometers is night and day. Many of those round dials are calibrated poorly and don't respond at all to temperature fluctuation. Thus making them up to 10* off in either direction.

^^^I had a temp analog thermo and the difference was about 12 deg on either side...
Digital thermometers aren't expensive. Many users here (myself included) swear by the accurite digital weather station. It is sold at almost all home depots and walmarts and sometimes at lowes. It is generally around $10-12. It measures temperature with a probe and humidity and temperature at the unit making it an all in one device. :)

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^^^I bought that one to, It's pretty much dead on on the temps...Like he said, very IN-Expensive and reads Humidity/Hot/Cool...perfect all around device for the "tight wads"..(like myself)...Either way, DEFINATLY go Digital..Dont risk another life.

Sorry for your lose, I know the feeling and hate it.

Sorry for your loss :(

I too am sorry for your loss. :(

If you want to see if your analog dial thermometer was the cause just stand the accurite weather station right next to it. I have both and so far the "Zoo Med" analog dial has been exactly the same as the digital accurite with both the temps & humidity. I only use the dial type for cool side ambient temps and keep the accurite probe on the glass under her terrarium liner directly above the UTH. The device itself usually stays right outside her tank to keep an eye on my room temps which are usually only a few degrees cooler than her tank temps. Like I said I don't trust the analog ones so I test it with the digital from time to time.

Sorry for your loss. This should be a learning experience for you.