First time snake owner

[Sprinx]

Hello all..I am Sprinx, or at least my snake was..She passed on just a bit ago and I am not sure why..She was my first snake, a fancy corn snake, about a year and a half old..I had just fed her a pinkie earlier this week and she was lively while I held her and after I put her back in her tank..She has log houses, vines, and a branch to climb on, with aspen bedding..I noticed her earlier today in the corner if the tank and then tonight she was in the same spot but her scale tone was darker, so I checked on her..She had regurgitated her food and the tip of her mouth was dark..I am curious if anyone here has any opinions on why she would have died so young..

[daisymaisy]

So sorry to hear that! So sad to lose an animal. Sometimes a snake will have something wrong with it and not show any outward signs until they pass away. On the other hand it's a good idea to review all aspects of care and make sure your temps and set up is good. At year and a half I would expect her to be able to take bigger mice than a pinky, so I don't think that would have been too big for her.

[SimplieLiving]

I know a commonly expressed worry for a lot of captive snakes is digesting the bedding in their enclosures. I'm not snake expert and just have one snake as well but I try to be mindful about the substrate when I feed my boa.

[Cyclops]

Well, could she have been impacted on the substrate?

[EL Ziggy]

Without a necropsy it's pure speculation about how your snake might have died but I'm sorry for your loss. I do agree with Daisy that a 1.5 y/o corn snake should have been eating much larger prey than a pinky. Impaction issues are very rare occurrences as long as your temps and humidity are dialed in. They digest the hair, teeth, and bones of their prey so a little aspen won't kill them. I have 8 snakes and they all eat a little bedding from time to time. They eat, poop and shed regularly with no problems.

[TRD]

Well, could she have been impacted on the substrate?

I doubt that, my snakes regularly drag they mouse across half the enclosure and eat it. Only impaction you should worry about is hard and big (as in big compared to the snake) pieces of bark/cypress mulch or the likes. Finer substrates, small pieces of wood, sand, etc, will pass just fine in healthy snakes.

Can't really say why a snake dies unless it's blatantly obvious. Reptiles generally get unwell/sick over a longer period of time. They are masters in hiding their decease up to the point it will kill them.. Simply check how you kept your snake and ensure it was kept well at all times. You can't really do much more except asking a necropsy from a vet. 1.5 year old snake should eat a lot larger prey than a pinky though. If your snake after 1.5 year was so small it couldn't handle anything bigger, he/she might of had an issue from birth... It happens unfortunately :(