How would you discard of a special pet who passed away?

My butter pinstripe ball just died and he was very special to me. Fought a nasty RI for quite some time - two rounds of antibiotics, several vet visits, cultures ... The whole bit. Fought for him hard and really sad to see him go. He was one of my original male breeders and for some reason discarding him in the garbage just doesn't feel right...he was much more than just a breeder and so trusting. He endured me poking him with needles, visits to the vet, even shedding his skin for him near the end and never once got pissy with me so I'm quite sad.
What are some ways you would discard of a special pet who's passed away?

Here's my special boy:

http://pbckt.com/pJ.NDmRus

I have yet to have a snake die but if the snake was special to you, you could always bury him. That's what I did when one of my cats died when I was younger.

I'm sorry for your loss

This has me thinking of a time in my youth where having a small burial in the back yard was ok. I am not sure of the laws on this now if any. I would check with your town or city and see what they think. There are other options like cremation and taxidermy. Losing a pet is never easy and my thoughts are with your recovery.

How sad. :( He was a beautiful boy. When a pet dies I bury it and plant a flower or little tree on top so I can think of them as it grows.

Bury, burn or garbage seems to be the only options, unless you take him to a vet to have him cremated or disposed of.

If you choose to bury, make certain you bury deep and cover the surface against animals digging at the site. If you try burning the body(Viking style), it will smell terrible and I'm not sure what the laws are in your area for open fires, since you wouldn't want to burn a python body IN anything you ever wanted to use again. Garbage, like you said, doesn't seem respectful, but also can be frowned upon by the garbagemen and/or local ordinances about animal disposal.

If you take him to a vet for disposal, you can choose to get his ashes back and scatter them or keep them. Or you can let them just dispose of the ashes.

taxidermy!!!!

Sorry for your loss. :(

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Originally Posted by Royal Morphz

There are other options like cremation and taxidermy.

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This. :gj:

I'm really sorry for your loss and appreciate you bringing this up; started me thinking, to say the least, as to what I'd do when this happens to me.

Depending on where you live and what the laws/regulations are in your area, you have a few options as have been mentioned. If you elect to bury him, bury him deep and add some agricultural lime on him before you cover him. This will aid in him becoming earth, to put it nicely. Also be aware of any water supplies if you elect to bury him, especially if you use/have well water.

If you burn him, that takes a LOT of heat to properly cremate an animal, even one as small as a snake. I can't remember the exact temperature requirement but it's pretty high and it takes a long while to accomplish it...add to that the odor and that might not be the best option.

Cremation via a vet might be your best option if you want it tidy and respectful of him as a far as how they would handle his remains. Taxidermy can be expensive but it might allow you to remember him as he was, depending on how skilled the taxidermist is that you chose, if you go that route.

Not sure I really added anything to this, just throwing it out there. I'm really sorry for your loss and hope you find some peace with things and a way to remember him that works for you. Take care!

Thanks for your replies. I'm considering burying him (although live in a townhouse so I'm not sure), cremation or taxidermy. I appreciate the responses :-)

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Originally Posted by Otolith

How sad. :( He was a beautiful boy. When a pet dies I bury it and plant a flower or little tree on top so I can think of them as it grows.

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Really like this idea and Im sorry for your loss

I'm sorry for your loss. He's a beautiful boy.

All of my past animals have been cremated. I haven't had a snake die on me yet, but I plan on doing the same.
The nice thing about cremation is that the ashes are put into a nice little box and you get to keep it forever.

If you have any kind of private yard, however small, I see no reason why you can't bury your snake. Even if a city ordinance forbids it, it is one of those who is really going to know or care kind of situations. I have always buried my pets because I like the idea of the remains of the dead going back into the earth to fuel new life. I just think that is really beautiful, and all of my lost pets (two cats, a dog, seven fish, various lizards, and a chameleon) have been buried in the yard at the house I grew up in.

So sorry for your loss. The thing with pets is for all the joy and love they give us, they inevitably break our hearts one day. :tears: Whatever you decide to do with your special boy, you will retain your memories of him and know that he lived a happy life with you with the best of care until the end.

My 'heart' animals are all cremated, and some ashes are blended into raw glass by a glass blower local to here and made into a pendent. The rest of the ashes are kept, and when I die I will be cremated and all of our ashes are to be blended together and scattered:)
*Fila*

I'm going add to the cautions on deep burying if you go that route. I had a crazy bird lady friend lose a bunch of her finches at once, and she was crushed. She buried them in the backyard, not realizing that her two terriers would do what was natural for terriers. Which just added to the trauma.

And he was, truly, a gorgeous animal. I'm really sorry.

I'm so sorry :( He was gorgeous :)

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Originally Posted by Fila

My 'heart' animals are all cremated, and some ashes are blended into raw glass by a glass blower local to here and made into a pendent. The rest of the ashes are kept, and when I die I will be cremated and all of our ashes are to be blended together and scattered:)
*Fila*

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I love this :yes:

Im sorry for your loss. I would cremate or do the taxidermy option. Either way you can always still have him with you. He was very pretty.

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Originally Posted by satomi325

I'm sorry for your loss. He's a beautiful boy.

All of my past animals have been cremated. I haven't had a snake die on me yet, but I plan on doing the same.
The nice thing about cremation is that the ashes are put into a nice little box and you get to keep it forever.

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x2 you may want to look for a crematorium who does just animals. IDK if that would be cheaper than taking him to a vet. Worth looking into IMO.

I am so sorry for your loss.

I too am sorry you are having to think about this. In my area it is illegal to bury exotics. I personally have yet to have this issue personally but a friend of mine came up with an interesting solution that I can share. He bought a concrete mould and placed his bearded dragon into wet concrete that formed the underground footing for the bird bath (the mould he bought). He added a small plaque to the fountain in memory. Although not strictly legal the concern about exotic pets and native species contacting each other is moot.

I thought it was a very elegant option regardless to laws in your area, add that to the other beautiful and tasteful options already suggested.

My animals that passed were buried in the backyard, under a memorial weeping cherry tree I planted for that reason. Every spring when it covered itself in pink blooms, I remembered my pets gone and would smile.

When my cat goes, I'm going to have him cremated, then have his ashes incorporated into a bead for a necklace I always wear.

http://i26.photobucket.com/albums/c1...erry41208b.jpg

I like the jewellery idea. I think when my littluns go I'll get them cremated and get a nice planter and plant my favourite flowers/plants in it. That way if we move I can take them with me :) When my cat passed a few years back the plan was to bury his ashes under a fountain in the back garden but them Mum moved so she did the planter thing :)

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Originally Posted by loonunit

And he was, truly, a gorgeous animal. I'm really sorry.

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Thanks - he was a beautiful boy! I have a normal girl who appears to be gravid right now and was paired with him before he became ill. I quarantined her after he became ill and haven't paired her with anyone else just incase she got sick too so she hasn't locked with any other males but him and she appears to be doing well and staying healthy so I'm hoping I may get some cute little baby butter pins like him. If I do I think I'll have to keep them out of memory :-)

Thanks again to everyone who replied'

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Originally Posted by kitedemon

I too am sorry you are having to think about this. In my area it is illegal to bury exotics. I personally have yet to have this issue personally but a friend of mine came up with an interesting solution that I can share. He bought a concrete mould and placed his bearded dragon into wet concrete that formed the underground footing for the bird bath (the mould he bought). He added a small plaque to the fountain in memory. Although not strictly legal the concern about exotic pets and native species contacting each other is moot.

I thought it was a very elegant option regardless to laws in your area, add that to the other beautiful and tasteful options already suggested.

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I think this is a really nice idea. Thanks! You all have been really helpful; thanks so much.

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Originally Posted by Shadera

My animals that passed were buried in the backyard, under a memorial weeping cherry tree I planted for that reason. Every spring when it covered itself in pink blooms, I remembered my pets gone and would smile.

When my cat goes, I'm going to have him cremated, then have his ashes incorporated into a bead for a necklace I always wear.

http://i26.photobucket.com/albums/c1...erry41208b.jpg

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That's so pretty and such a great idea. Thankyou.

What a beautiful boy. When my cat passed I had him cremated and buried at a special pet cemetery where they did the cremation.

Thanks again for you all your replies and well wishes. I think I may put him in concrete and use it as the base for a fountain as was suggested. I think that's a really nice idea. Either that or I may get a nice rose bush and bury him with it and think of him each yr when it blooms.

The last option I'm considering is to have him cremated and scatter the ashes on the beach - I Live on the beach and often take my snakes out back to sit with me on the beach in the summertime and watch my son play so that would be a nice place - maybe scatter his ashes in the lake there....

Either way, I feel much better about everything. It's so hard when an animal dies that you fought so hard for. Watching them look at you with this trust in their eyes, almost expecting you to fix things and when you can't fix it and you sit by and watch them slowly die, it's an awful thing. He was a trooper and I'm hoping to get a little boy from his clutch that looks just like him :-)

So sorry for your loss. Praying your heart heals soon.

Sorry for your loss. It is always hard to lose animals. When my first BP died, also from an RI (though I had to have her put down), I had her cremated. The urn is still on the mantle above my fireplace. That's always an option. You can take the body to your vet and have them send it out.