My BP died inexplicably and I'm crushed... any ideas?

[kairotique]

My beautiful spider ball python is dead and I have no idea why. He was fine just last night. I had him out, I was handling him, he was happy and active as ever... He had shown absolutely no signs that anything was wrong. He was eating fine. He lived in a rack system that holds several other BPs that are still fine... the temps and humidity were normal. I've had him for a year, and I've never seen anything out of the ordinary.

I checked on him just now and found him dead with a strange lump right by the vent. he was fine less than 12 hours ago.







I am not a breeder... I have several morphs, and I was going to do amateur breeding eventually, but he was above all my pet. And I loved him dearly, and I always tried to take perfect care of him... This was so sudden and I have no idea what happened.

Does anyone know? Are my other snakes in danger? Any insight would be great, because... I just know what happened, and I feel like absolute crap. I loved him so much.

[Peter Williams]

Oh my god that's terrible. However you should take his body to your vet for a necropsy to make sure your other snakes aren't at risk.

[West Coast Jungle]

I am very sorry for your loss. It appears like he has alot of wood beeding impacted and it must have caused severe internal problems. He looked like a beautiful spider and again I am so sorry.

[JLC]

I am SO sorry for your loss! What kind of substrate do you keep them on? It looks like he was trying to pass something that he could not.

[reptile3]

I am sorry for your loss, your spider looked nice!

Looks to me too, that it was trying to pass something out, & it couldn't. I hope you get some answers.

[kairotique]

Thanks... It's aspen. I thought that a lot of people used aspen and it was safe. I got it at a snake show, actually, and I've never seen anything to indicate that it was dangerous. If I'd known at all that this could happen, I would've used something different... I guess I thought if it was a problem, so many people wouldn't use it... and that a creature whose stomach could digest bones wouldn't have a problem with the little bits of substrate that got on the mice.

The weird thing is, the last time I fed them was a week ago and he acted completely fine even last night.

I just don't even know. This is so terrible. He was so beautiful and I loved him so much. Had I gotten even the slightest indication that anything was wrong at all, I would've taken him to the vet immediately.

[tigerlily]

Did you notice that swelling when you were handling him? Unfortunately there is no way to say definitively why he passed except by having a necropsy done. If you would like to go that route, be sure to put the body in the refrigerator and contact a vet as soon as possible on Monday.

I'm deeply sorry for your loss.

[JLC]

Aspen is certainly considered safe and you shouldn't feel bad for having used it or blame yourself. Is it an option to take him to a vet for a necropsy? Were I in your shoes, I'd definitely be wanting some answers....as difficult as they might be to obtain. I've heard of people doing their own amateur necropsies as well....but I don't think I'd have the stomach for something like that.

[JenH]

I'm so sorry!

Was the wood just stuck to him or was it coming out of his vent? Looks fresh and not like it has gone through his digestive cycle. A lot of folks use aspen and they can ingest a little bit with their food and it shouldn't cause a problem.

[kairotique]

I will do that, I think, if it's the only way to know.

I can't help but blame myself at least a little. I can't help but feel like I did something wrong, because he was barely a year old. I just wish I knew, so that it never happens again. And I guess the only way to do that is to do the necropsy. I'll find someone tomorrow, I guess.

But yes, he was on aspen, and he only ate mice. I don't know what could've happened.