Death of a snake

Ok, so last night I had Santiago, my boa, out. he was doing his boa thing, didn't seem like he was having any problems. He'd just shed, except for a patch under his chin. He ate friday, no problems. He was in a temp tub, kept at about 89 - 93 degrees and it was, according to the gage at around 40% humidity. We were having trouble with the table his permanent tank was on which is why he was in the tub.

This morning I was planning on soaking him a bit to help get the stuck skin and he was cold to the touch. The tank was warm. I put him on the heating blanket thinking that that could warm him up before we realized that he was just gone. I know without a necropsy(sp?) we won't know for sure. The kids are offering all sorts of suggestions. The holes of the tube weren't covered up, it was warm, I'd just cleaned it out friday shortly before feeding him. didn't use any chemicals on it. just hot water.

I'm wracking my brains trying to figure out if I did something wrong. I do plan on taking him to a specialist and have them do a necropsy to find out what happened, I'm trying not to come unglued.

I am so sorry!! I would be hysterical! My boa is my best friend!


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I'm trying not to be. I'm absolutely shocked. Trying to hold it together with the kids around, they're upset too.

Sorry to hear it.

Perhaps maybe it was just his time to go? But if hes young, then yeah, a vet or so can probably say.

I'm so sorry to hear this. I hope you are able to find the cause

Just for the record, he was still a baby. Weighed about 100 g.

My hubs and I are in disagreement over the 'necessity' of having the necropsy done. He feels it's a fluke, that there was some congenital thing and there's no point as it won't bring him back.

I feel like I *must* know. If there is something I did wrong... So yeah. We're at a bit of an impasse there.

And I miss having him around. His little mustached nose poking at me. **sigh**

http://tapatalk.imageshack.com/v2/14...f115a51c2f.jpg we had been trying to get him to sit still for a pic. He had other ideas lol

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Originally Posted by BPSnakeLady

Just for the record, he was still a baby. Weighed about 100 g.

My hubs and I are in disagreement over the 'necessity' of having the necropsy done. He feels it's a fluke, that there was some congenital thing and there's no point as it won't bring him back.

I feel like I *must* know. If there is something I did wrong... So yeah. We're at a bit of an impasse there.

And I miss having him around. His little mustached nose poking at me. **sigh**

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If you're going to do it then it'll have to be soon. The best chance for finding out what was wrong is when the critter is taken to the vet immediately after it died.

Hopefully you didn't freeze him as that destroys tissue.

**nods**

Ok, got a call from vet. They couldn't find anything wrong. **sigh** could be because of the age (he was only 110 g) and then the gal went on to tell me getting him from the expo was the first mistake. I've got mixed feelings about that. Anyways. It is what it is. Can't change it.

I'm so sorry to hear about it. I wouldn't stress if you think it's anything you did. Sometimes it's just nature.

<3

Thats what the gal on the phone said. Sometimes they just don't live long. I know Idid everything I could.

I'm sorry about your boa. What was the vets problem with getting snakes from expos?

The gal's opinion was that snakes being sold at the expo were low quality & prone to problems like not eating, being sick etc. i guess she equates them with puppymill dogs.

It's a 'take it with a grain of salt' sorta thing.

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Originally Posted by BPSnakeLady

The gal's opinion was that snakes being sold at the expo were low quality & prone to problems like not eating, being sick etc. i guess she equates them with puppymill dogs.

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That may or may not be true. I know many small reputable breeders who vend at our small local expos, and I would have no problem getting a critter from them since they only sell what they produce.

OTOH there are other sellers who will pick up critters from less-reputable mass distributors on Friday to put on their table at a Saturday expo.

I am confused though on the quick turn-around time for the results though - were blood samples set out to a lab for testing? Usually it can take 2-3 days for results on those.

I'll call back and ask I didn't even think about the tests.

The gal seemed very hung up on how small he was and the time since death and when I got him over there. **ponders if they actually did anything besides looking at him**

I must be spacing out more than usual.

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Originally Posted by BPSnakeLady

I'll call back and ask I didn't even think about the tests.

The gal seemed very hung up on how small he was and the time since death and when I got him over there. **ponders if they actually did anything besides looking at him**

I must be spacing out more than usual.

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If it was several days they may not have been able to pull samples... IDK.

The last BP I had a necro done on was at the vet less than two hours after he died unexpectedly. I didn't get a full report which included the PMV tests (fortunately neg!) from a lab in Georgia for about a week.

As for spacing out, don't worry about it. I was a wreck for about a week after mine died, worrying he had something contagious.

The gal left already. >.<

I feel dumb for not thinking about the tests, I should have asked **sigh**. (I'm kinda hard on myself)

I ended up talking to the gal for some time, and again when the test results came in. They found no disease, nothing to pinpoint why he died.

The last call we talked over an hour about boas, snake health & all sorts of snakey things. I do know I'll be returning to that vet office in the future and not just for my snakes. The gal was very sympathetic (her brother breeds retics) and she seemed to know what she was talking about.

I know I'll be getting another boa, I miss having one. But it might be awhile. I get all teary eyed just looking at pics of them.

Anyways, thanks for the thoughts. Hope yall have a great holiday.


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Quote:

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Originally Posted by BPSnakeLady

He was in a temp tub, kept at about 89 - 93 degrees and it was, according to the gage at around 40% humidity. We were having trouble with the table his permanent tank was on which is why he was in the tub.

This morning I was planning on soaking him a bit to help get the stuck skin and he was cold to the touch. The tank was warm.

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Was there anywhere in the tub for him to get cooler than the above temperatures?

He had a hide in with him, I put it towards the front which was cooler. The heat source was in the back. I'd seen him on top of the hide a couple of times. It was a temp setup.

I'm trying to remember, i know i used my little temp gun to look at the temp in front, but I dont recall where I wrote it down or what the temp was when I checked it.


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