Blood python death

Well my blood python died tonight after a little over a month, I'd like to get it into a vet to find out cause of death, I need to ask around to see who does it and how much in my area though. I'd like to get some opinions though

I bought it at the sac upscale reptile show last month from EBV. It was my first blood, so I didnt recognize what other blood keepers did. When I posted the first pics of him, I was told he looked really thin. Well not being new to snakes, I figured that to be an easy fix. He refused the first meal, which worried me a bit, so I waited 3 days and he took the mouse. He's eatten for me once a week since then, but he still looked thin which was starting to worry me. I fed him the 4th meal earlier today. He regerged it, but the vet near me isnt open sundays so I'd have to wait till tomorrow to bring him in.

I just went over to my snake area to spot clean and freshen water, and found him dead. I was heartbroken, he was a great little guy! Does anyone know what might have caused this? Could it have been something he had from EBV(east bay vivarium)?

Here are the original pics taken the day after I bought him.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v4...n/S6300264.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v4...n/S6300266.jpg

I don't have any answers as I know nothing about bloods.

But condolences are in order, sorry about your loss. I hope you get the cause figured out.

Thanks, Devious

I had been thinking about getting a blood for a long time now, and when I saw them at the sac show, I was tempted but didnt, I came home, researched all night, talked to blood owners on here(thread is on page 1) and desided to get one the last day from the show...

Needless to say I'm not going to buy from East bay vivarium again, all they're bloods looked ike the one I chose, so I bet I'm not the only one this happened to.

Im so so sorry about your loss. Hopefully that doesnt deter your sprite to continue owning another blood.

I got my sumatran from ebv and havent had a problem with mines except an error on my part but I took her to the vet already.

It could be a number of possibilities. What was your enclosure information for him? Maybe we can narrow it down for you.

Well hope things work out for you. Take care. :(

I cleaned the cage down, but last I checked it was 87 on the warm side, 79 on the cool and about 75% humidity. He had a hide in the middle and a large water bottle to soak in. He was in a AP racking system

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Originally Posted by Nagini88

I cleaned the cage down, but last I checked it was 87 on the warm side, 79 on the cool and about 75% humidity. He had a hide in the middle and a large water bottle to soak in. He was in a AP racking system

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Hope he wasn't in the same rack as your other snakes...If so, better keep a close eye on them...

sorry for your loss...

Very sorry for your loss, i hope you find out what happened!!! Good luck to you, also i agree with what was said above, keep a close eye on the rest of your collection...

It must be so hard to lose such a young and new animal. I really feel for you and I hope everything gets figured out. I really have no clue why, lets hope the Vet figures it out. Sending healing vibes your way, I hope this doesn't turn you off to bloods for the future.

I'm sorry to hear this Nagini. Earlier this year I too lost a baby blood for no apparent reason and it was a heartbreaking experience. I hope your able to find out the cause of your little guys demise! Sending massive prayer vibes your way!

So sorry for your loss.......... I hope you find out what the cause was, just for peace of mind... ***BIG HUG***

Have you had a chance to take him to the vet yet?

I had a problem like this with a ball python I got a while back. He had coccidia. He died before the Vet figured out what it was. Did your Blood go poop alot? That is one of the signs along with being thin. Coccidia is a protist colony that builds up in the GI tract. It builds up and then comes out in the stool and repeats over and over. Which causes the animal to dehydrate and starve. Another sign is no appitite and drinking more than normal. I dont know if that is what happened to your snake or not. Hope you figure it out.

Sorry to hear about your loss, I know how it is to loose a snake seemingly out of nowhere. I hope time helps heal your wounds well.

Sorry about your loss. How old was he? If he was a juvy a skipped shed could have caused him to leave this world.

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Originally Posted by Onua Nuva

Sorry about your loss. How old was he? If he was a juvy a skipped shed could have caused him to leave this world.

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A skipped shed? Explain.

Perhaps he meant a retained shed. I have never heard of a skipped shed being the reason for a young blood passing. A retained shed is critical, and should be assisted and removed as soon as possible.

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Originally Posted by littleindiangirl

Perhaps he meant a retained shed. I have never heard of a skipped shed being the reason for a young blood passing. A retained shed is critical, and should be assisted and removed as soon as possible.

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Yeah I knew that could cause problems. I wonder if that's what he meant. Cause like you a skipped shed? Never heard of it.

lol, like scheduling your snakes to shed.

Sorry for your loss, Nagini.

He was beautiful

Was he an import? Did you have a fecal done? How many new animals have you gotten in the recent past?

I am sorry for your loss, I send my condolences.

:(

-Tybalt

Did you get any vet work done on the snake? Did you have any kind of quarentine?

It's been a full day since I asked and I am rather curious.

the first post was on 11-05, I'm gonna say that perhaps the OP did not choose to have a vet perform a necropsy.

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Originally Posted by 2kdime

Yeah I knew that could cause problems. I wonder if that's what he meant. Cause like you a skipped shed? Never heard of it.

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That's just what I call it. I meant a retained shed.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by littleindiangirl

Perhaps he meant a retained shed. I have never heard of a skipped shed being the reason for a young blood passing. A retained shed is critical, and should be assisted and removed as soon as possible.

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You have never heard of that because it doesn't happen often. But a retained shed is usually fatal in young bloods if it is not taken care of immediately.

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Originally Posted by Onua Nuva

You have never heard of that because it doesn't happen often. But a retained shed is usually fatal in young bloods if it is not taken care of immediately.

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A retained shed sure; may not happen often. And can do some harm. Even fatal.

But a SKIPPED SHED??
That's what was said could have been a problem. And has not been explained. I think the vocabulary is just wrong here.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Onua Nuva

You have never heard of that because it doesn't happen often. But a retained shed is usually fatal in young bloods if it is not taken care of immediately.

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I'm curious about this. Is there documentation of this someplace?

thanks

I would think (hope?) a skipped shed refers to a retained shed. Blood & short-tailed pythons typically don't shed for 60-90 days post-hatch, so it's easy for an uninitiated keeper to become confused when dealing with young animals from any of the three species.

$.02

Also nagini, I'd still like to know if the snake ever saw a vet or had a fecal done on it.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Onua Nuva

You have never heard of that because it doesn't happen often. But a retained shed is usually fatal in young bloods if it is not taken care of immediately.

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Again, I believe your referring to a retained shed. Calling it a skipped shed is confusing and the wrong use of the term.

Like Kara said, I hope you mean a retained shed. A skipped shed isn't an actual problem as far as I know, as you cannot schedule a shed.
IF you are indeed referring to the first shed of a blood, Nagini's animal I believe was a few months old (6 mo.?), and should have been well past that stage.

The most suspicious COD (for me anyways) is either impaction or parasites, like someone stated in a previous post.
I have no evidence of either, but it's something to think about with no real proof of the cause of death.

chirp chirp said the crickets.

nagini, are you waiting for the moon to fill before you answer?