New Hatchling Passed Away

[Bogertophis]

Amoeba are easy to treat for safely, & some keepers do it routinely with new acquisitions, or for sure with any that aren't quite right (if they have feeding issues, or weird stool, etc).

The drug is called Flagyl- (aka- metronidazole). You might have heard of it before, it's used for fish ("Fish-Zole" is sold in pet stores OTC for aquarium fish) & for farm animals ("Metro-Zole) likewise sold OTC. You have to be able to calculate the right dose for snakes & administer it (by mouth- that's what the abbreviation "PO" means) & it definitely works, & dosed correctly, it's very safe for snakes. Yes, I've used it. It also tends to stimulate a snake's appetite, which really might have helped. Flagyl is also given to humans for some conditions too, btw. It's not even expensive. Of course, a vet could also supply & administer it too.

https://www.vin.com/apputil/content/...some%20species.



I suppose they could still see any gross physical abnormalities on a snake preserved this way, but it's not ideal. Formalin might be a better option.

Re necropsies: https://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/publication/UW382 excerpt:

"Necropsies should be performed soon after the animal is euthanized to avoid autolysis. If the necropsy will not take place for a couple of hours, the reptile should be stored in a refrigerator. Depending on your purpose of study, specimens may also be stored in a freezer for days, weeks, or months before necropsy. Avoid freezing the animal before blood or tissue analysis, however, because it compromises samples (Stahl 1996)."