Strange hatchling deaths ( disturbing pics )

Last night I fed a group of hatchlings for the first time, they coiled the rat fuzzies with no hesitation. When I went back to check on them I noticed 2 of them where still coiled, so I looked closer and both hatchlings where dead. I have no idea at all on what could have happened.... Any ideas ? This is the first time I have ever lost any hatchlings :-(http://img.tapatalk.com/d/13/08/01/3adutu4e.jpg

http://img.tapatalk.com/d/13/08/01/ebenu2ed.jpg
http://img.tapatalk.com/d/13/08/01/3ahe6azu.jpg

Wow that's very strange.
I'll take a wild guess and say maybe it was something to do with their hearts..?

Being so sudden and right in the middle of eating makes me think, heart attack, stroke etc.

I'm sorry this happened.

Wow that is really strange! Is this common in ball python babies? I really hope I never have that happen! So sorry about your babies! How long has it been since they first hatched? Are there anymore from the same clutch? I would maybe keep an eye on them just in case next time you feed.

I would recommend getting them necropsied to find out what happened. This is a very weird case.

They had been shed for about 3 days before I attempted feeding, they where clutch mates from a clutch of 6.... The other 4 fed and done great.

x2 on the necropsy if you really want to know what happened. The heart attack theory seams plausible but you would think if they were that weak they wouldn't have been able to come out of the eggs with a weak heart. Then again, I guess cutting the egg gets rid of most of the work for them so out of curiosity..... do you cut or did they pip themselves?

3 or 4 had pipped so I cut the rest. I can't remember if either one of these little ones pipped or not.

That is really bizarre. Good luck identifying the cause - I am very interested to know.

Odd, the only thing I think out of the ordinary is the size of the meal for a first feeding. I have never started a hatchling on such a large meal. I always start them on a mouse hopper or a rat pink for the first few meals. My only guess would be too much of a struggle trying to constrict:confusd:

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Originally Posted by West Coast Jungle

Odd, the only thing I think out of the ordinary is the size of the meal for a first feeding. I have never started a hatchling on such a large meal. I always start them on a mouse hopper or a rat pink for the first few meals. My only guess would be too much of a struggle trying to constrict:confusd:

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Maybe so, i have raised countless hatchlings starting them on these little fuzzy crawlers with never an issue but im gonna drop the size a bit just to be safe. It's very depressing. Thanks for the input and hopefully I will not ever have this problem again :-(

Did any of them get the prey down? Did they die with the prey stuck in their mouth/throat? Maybe I'm totally out in left field but the prey looks pretty large for those guys. Especially as a first meal, or at least first several meals.


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I was thinking it looked too large too...

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Originally Posted by SlitherinSisters

Did any of them get the prey down? Did they die with the prey stuck in their mouth/throat? Maybe I'm totally out in left field but the prey looks pretty large for those guys. Especially as a first meal, or at least first several meals.


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No they never even uncoiled they just died constricting them.... The crawlers did not put up much of a fight at all... They did not even have their eyes open yet. The pic is a bit deceiving, they look a lot bigger than they are, not sure if its that the snake is all balled up making them look larger or if the cell pics are doing it but I really don't think that was it... These 2 both died before ever even attempting to swallow .

I vote necropsy so you know for sure what happened. I've never seen this before!

I vote necropsy too. If just one had died like that it would be pretty odd. But having 2 die like that....that seems extremely strange to me.
I also thought that the prey looked big but I don't think that's what killed them. Unless it is a heart issue and the strain of constricting did it.
It's just so weird, like one moment they're fine, and then they die suddenly.

prey looks a lil big but not excessively so... were u able to see what position the trach tubes wer in? either that or the heart defect theory previously stated are what I would guess. sorry for your loss :(

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Any resolution on this?

I feel like maybe they had genetic/incubation related heart issues and the feeding was the first exertion great enough to make it problematic. That's a total spitball, though...

Does that snake have a kink? Not sure if it's my monitor or what but that bend looks a little weird in the 3rd and 4th pic...

I had this happen to fully grown adult male that has never even so much as has a bad shed..My guess is a stroke or heart condition. I've seen this with babies that take longer to get started but never more than one a season. It's seems that they exert so much energy killing the rat that it takes everything they have and they die