Massive heat spike, one snake lost, one snake alive, need input...

[gardenfiend138]

So for the back story on this please see this post :
http://ball-pythons.net/forums/showt...42#post1613242
I just can't stand typing it all again it still hurts too much. Anyway, my little lesser was directly below the heat lamp further away than Darwin. They said it got to 120 in the enclosure, and when they found them in the morning Diedra's body temp was 100 (thankfully she was bowl-wrapping to keep cool).
I checked her yesterday when I got off work (hardest day of work of my life, crying all day watering plants), and she was looking surprisingly good; active, tongue flicking, had just eaten 2 days prior (FULL stomach) and no regurg. The one thing I notice is that she isn't head-shy at all now. I can scratch her head and she won't move it. She still reacts to overhead motions and jerks back. Everything seems normal, but I know anything can still happen.
I read old posts of people who have had similar experiences, and gave her a good soaking today to try and re-hydrate her after an experience like that. My friends at the shop gave me a card for a free vet visit from the best exotic vet in the area (which is a solid hour away).
I haven't brought her in yet, but I am planning on it tomorrow, I wanted to give her time to digest because it was a big meal and I don't want to stress her too much.
I'm wondering if anyone with similar experiences or knowledge pertaining to this might chime in with advice for other things to do.
While I'm at the vet I am thinking of getting a necropsy done on Darwin, but since we know the cause of death I also just want to go on a hike and bury him (illegal I know but not my concern).
Thank you for reading and I will keep you posted on her progress.

[Kymberli]

I haven't experienced anything like this before, so I'm not one who could give you any advice or share similar stories. Though, about her suddenly not being head shy, my first thought was neurological damage due to the high temperatures she sustained. Of course, this may not be so, but I do know high temperatures can cause neurological damage in Ball Pythons.

And again, I am very sorry for your loss.

[gardenfiend138]

Your first thought was my first thought as well... I am still waiting for another call giving me more bad news...I don't know what I will do...they have taken her to their house and put her in their rack so they can keep a close eye on her

I will be so grateful if she survives and is able to eat on her own...

[gardenfiend138]

So just an update: I just got back from taking Diedra to the vet (Avian and Exotic Clinic of Monterey Peninsula), and the prognosis is good for now. I gave the vet the whole back story, and she said she checked out fine. I told her that I was worried of neurological damage, or possibly the rat rotting in her stomach due to the heat (had eaten 2 days prior to incident). As I thought, no way to tell for sure about brain damage except for observing her behavior over time and seeing how it relates to her behavior prior to the incident. She has most of her head-shyness back, and seems completely normal and healthy otherwise.
I decided to get blood work done just for my peace of mind to check her liver and kidney functions, so I will have those results by Monday. If the tests come back with issues, they said they will start her on a fluid treatment, but I'm doubtful it will be needed.

On a side note, although they are extremely knowledgeable and experienced, they said she should be eating mice and not rats (eye-roll) because she looked fairly large for her age (because she is only 4 days into digesting a 65g rat). She was born on October 6, 2010, and is currently sitting at 604 grams, partially full. Thank you to those that gave me kind words! Will keep updated.

[kitedemon]

I am very glad to hear that your lesser is doing well. That is awesome. I am very sorry for your loss of Darwin.

I hope it is too early, please accept my humblest apologies.

Please do not take this as criticism I am truly trying to be constructive and reducing your worry. If I imagine myself in your position I would be checking on the enclosure all the time and would not get a good nights sleep. I have had a t-stat fail and caught it before any harm was done, and frantically searched for a solution this is an easy one.

http://www.spyderrobotics.com/home/s...edocument.html

[llovelace]

Sorry again for Darwin , but you're right no need for a necropsy, you know what caused his death, him being in a tub, in an enclosure, with a heat lamp on.

I'm glad Diedra is doing well .

[gardenfiend138]

Thank you all once again for your kind words. @llovelace, Thank you again. I think I have decided against a necropsy as well. they told me I could still bury him after it was done, but I think I just want to return him to the Earth.
@kitedemon, thank you for your suggestions, they are taken to heart. Instead of getting another snake right away I am going to focus my time and energy on making sure Diedra is back to 100% and definitely invest in another thermostat for a backup. In between moving, all my free time is spent at the pet shop and at their home where she is currently still boarding. This sorta makes me wish I hadn't bought the VE-200 now, since the article you linked to said the backup needs to be a higher wattage rating than the primary, and I remember someone saying that one of the only real advantages of the VE (and it's not even really an advantage in most applications) is the higher wattage rating, so I think I am going to just get another one of the same to ensure something like this won't ever happen when she is back in my care...
...I am still playing over everything else that I could have done and should have done...I have a feeling it's not really going to hit me until she is back in my care and I realize she is the only one I have :/
Once again thank you all for the kind words and I will update Monday when I get the blood-work results back.

EDIT- I didn't realize the spyder robotics thermostat had that sort of fail safe built in...maybe buy a spyder and use my ve for the backup then? or does a backup thermostat HAVE to be an on/off type? or do they just suggest that because its cheaper? Thank you once again

[kitedemon]

They don't (herpstat back up) it needs to be a second back up on/off type. I use a zillas but am currently testing three hydrofarms at work and once that is done I expect that I'll be able to buy them cheap. The secondary needs to be rated the combined wattage of heater and primary t-stat. If you have an enclosure or two most on/offs will do the job.

edit,
The wattage of the secondary need to be enough to handle all the power running through the primary and the primary itself, which one is rated higher is not important as long as both can handle the job. Hydrofarms are rated to 1000 watts I believe with out checking the specs.

[gardenfiend138]

I was referring to the 'triacs' the article was mentioning, I guess not a fail safe, just a better quality product? I'm just not too savvy with technical stuff like that, but either way I greatly appreciate the information you are always able to provide. Thank you once again

[ballpythonluvr]

I am so sorry for your loss. I really hope that your female makes a full recovery.