She died....

I feel so guilty.. I found Shelby dead this morning. But I did everything I knew how for her..

I left her overnight with a f/t rat in a paper grocery bag (the only way I could get her to eat) of course the rat was still there..

That's the last time I buy an animal from a pet store. I don't know if she was wild caught.. she may have had parasites... but I can't put the blame on that.

I'm kind of in shock right now. She was my baby..

Oh geez.. and to top it off, my crayfish is eating my favorite molly..

Oh,man,I'm sorry.

What a bummer, Shelby. I know you tried to do everything for her at the end.

its been really cold out latley, maybe that had an effect on her.

aww i'm sorry... i hope you feel better! at least you did everything you could for her. don't blame yourself, you tried your hardest. :)

Before I came here, I didn't really have a clue. I was learning along the way. Too late unfortunately. I believe the cold weather was the end problem.

Now I have it right, so when I get another, it will be better.

We buried her in the yard. She was buried with a rat (the one she didn't eat last night). I guess we went a little Egyptian there, giving her food for the next life. But again.. she was from Africa.

Don't blame yourself! It's not your fault, you did everything you could. A similar situation happened to me almost a year ago. I got a bp from a pet store without knowing much about proper husbandry, just went off what the guy in the pet store told me. I eventually found this site and corrected all of my husbandry, but my bp died. I'm still not sure from what, possibly stress and starvation, or possibly IBD, since he had been kept in a tank with boas at the pet store.

Anyway, my best advice to you is to jump right back in. I know you're mourning the loss of your girl, but as soon as you feel ready, get another bp from a reputable breeder. You know your stuff now, and your new bp will be healthy and be in good hands.

I'm very sorry for your loss. :cry:

hate 2 hear, u tried to do everything possible so now u will be prepared for everything of ur new one if u do get one so there wont be any more surprises.

Aww....that stinks. I am very sorry, I know it doesn't feel good to have a pet die. RIP SHelby.

im sry for your loss....i can only imagine what it would feel like...im sry :(

i'm so sorry. you took care of her as best you could so try not to blame yourself. i'm sure she knows that you love her and did the best you knew how.

sry man!

I am sorry for your loss. It is hard when you loose a pet you put your heart and soul into.

i feel ur pain

its a risk we all take when we put effort into something and especially something that requires a certain amount of love but pick ur self up and when u feel the time is right try again dont let the loss of of Shelby prevent u from starting over

I'm very sorry for your loss. It's always rough to lose a pet, but next time you will be more prepared, as you said, and will know to get one from a breeder instead of WC or CH. I'm having a rough pet day, too, as one of my kids didn't lock Bo Peep's lid properly yesterday and he got out overnight, as I discovered when i went to water & feed everybody today. :(

Thank you guys for your sympathy.

I will get another ball python. Definitely from a reputable breeder though. I have to disinfect her cage and everything in it very thoroughly. I'll probably do that tomorrow.. once I have a little money, I'll look for a breeder. Though, I'd like to get an older BP. Something a little bigger. I want to try breeding a clutch of normals.. just to break into it.

I hope you find your BP Marla.. years ago I lost two corn snakes because friends didn't put the lid back on properly.

I'd wait until you're sure there are no environmental/airborne issues at hand, but after that going to a breeder is definitely the way to go. There should be some adult bp's available around March or April for a good bit less than they're going for now.

Thanks for the good wishes. I hope he shows up, too. He disappeared before, from a less secure enclosure (but ya still have to lock it!) and earned his name (Little Bo Peep has lost her snake, and can't tell where to find him/Leave him alone and he'll come home, dragging his tail behind him). He's already violated the famous ten-foot rule, which was easy enough to check because the room he's in has nothing but snake cages, herp equipment, and a few collapsed cardboard boxes in it.

Yeah I am taking my cham and my male sandboa to the vet tomorrow (provided I can get an appointment..)

I think my sandboa got the RI becuase his temps were way too low, not so sure what's wrong with the cham, but I don't know. What could it be? My other two snakes are fine.

EDIT: It's also tough since I work at a reptile pet store, so who knows what I come in contact with on a daily basis. I am religious about changing out of my work clothes and washing my hands up to my elbows before I come near my animals, as well as using hand sanitizer between animals, but still.

Sorry for your loss.

Man I am so sorry to hear that - WC can sometimes turn out to be a far more daunting process than it would seem at the time of purchase - with any number of preexisting conditions coming to the fore but none of that really helps mitigate the feeling of loss and likely guilt we experience when we lose something in our care.

how long had you had shelby? Kitty is going on 5 weeks without taking a meal. It will be 5 weeks tomorrow. I will try tonight, but I am not sure it is going to work and I am getting anxsious. I am so sorry to hear about your loss.

I had her a bit less than 6 months. It took me awhile to get her to eat. A couple months.. I got her when she was 2'9" so she was already a little bit older, and I believe she was wild caught since I found several ticks on her. Either that, or who ever had her before took poor care of her.

Try putting your BP in a paper grocery bag with the prey item over night. That worked for me. Good luck.

I'm sorry for your loss, rest assured you took care of her while she was with you. Try not to blame yourself, although I know it's difficult. May she rest in peace.

I am sorry to hear* that , I can only imagine how you must feel , don't blame yourselft though,there are certain things that we have no control over .

Ya im really sorry to hear that. I think that a pet shop is a very dangerous place for reptiles. My girlfriend and her brother both got snakes from a pet store while i got mine online from a breeder. They were both doing fine but then just like that they died one day after the other. One of them ate the other didn't. We were thinking that it was the mouse that the one ate because it died first but then when the other snake died the day after we knew there was something wrong there. Im guessing since they were all in the same cage at the pet shop that they got IBD or something and it was just a matter of time.