blood death

[ohh_kristina]

It is with a heavy heart that I announce the death of my blood python, Ember. She exhibited no signs of illness at all. She was eating perfectly, drinking, and defecating on a regular basis. She was active and curious. Nothing had changed in my husbandry. She was thriving and doing very well. I found her freshly dead in her moist hide box on Thursday evening, which is feeding day for me. I sent her body in for a necropsy and I will report back to this thread when I find out the results. Has anyone had this happen before? All of my other animals are very healthy, but I am getting fecals done on every single one of them next week..just to be sure. I talked to my vet when I brought the body in and explained everything, and she said that it may have just been her time to die..but we'll see when the necropsy results come back. She had been in my care since November.

Ember was my first blood python. When I started researching bloods almost a year ago, I had a feeling that I would enjoy them..but it wasn't until I had one in my care that I realized how awesome this species could be. After I make sure that there are no problems with the health of my collection, I am going to try with bloods again. They are amazing snakes.

http://www.ssnakess.com/photopost/data/500/2388181-8143_img.jpg

http://www.ssnakess.com/photopost/data/500/2388180-8097_img.jpg

:(

[Invictus]

I am so sorry for your loss Kristina. Better luck with the next one.

[Big_V]

I too am very sorry for your loss. I can only imagine what your going through losing your first blood. If i lost my baby blood id feel terrible as well. Feel better soon.

[axwielding1]

I'm sorry for your loss...
Please let us know what happened to her. That's a scary thought to have a snake that appears to be healthy and thriving, and dies out of nowhere....
ax.

[CHRISANDBOIDS14]

Sorry to hear that.

Yes, please let us know what happened.

Chris

[Corey Woods]

Most snakes die from either neglect, parasite or bacterial infections. If you kept your snake properly then it's most likely an amoeba or bacterial infection that killed her. Their is also a small chance that it could be organ failure. Who did you get him from?

Corey

[SD-SNAKE]

its wierd how the hand of G.O.M.U. works. How things that are fine and thriving one day are taken with out much knowing. Sorry to hear about your loss. If your wondering G.O.M.U. means God of my understanding. take care Nick

[ohh_kristina]

I got her from Xtreme Reptiles, at the November reptile expo in Tampa, FL. The first month she was with me, she refused to eat. Because of that, I took her to the vet and had everything checked out..full fecal, etc. Everything came back clean. A week after the vet trip, she started eating and didn't stop until she passed away. This was actually the first time that I bought a reptile from an expo. I feel kind of uneasy about it now that this has happened. I didn't look at Xtreme Reptile's web site until about a week after I brought the blood home. I looked at their prices and was amazed to see that they were extremely cheap (I assumed that the price I paid for the blood was marked down because it was at an expo). I usually go through very well known breeders and am willing to pay above average prices for my animals, because I know how important buying from a good breeder is. I won't make the same mistake twice.

You said an amoeba or bacterial infection could be the cause of death - is that something that would not show up with a fecal?

[Jezabel]

I'm really sorry to hear that, she was looking great. Let us what happen. Was she wc? Best of luck with the next one.

[ohh_kristina]

Originally posted by Jezabel
I'm really sorry to hear that, she was looking great. Let us what happen. Was she wc? Best of luck with the next one.

I don't believe so. She was labeled as CB, but you never know when people are telling the truth I guess.

[Liasis]

Sorry for you :-/

Bloods who die certanly, do that often because of to low humidity. Especially juveniles need 90% to get well. Maybe that was the problem, but the institut which is checking the snake will give you an answer, everything else can't be said over a distance...

regards

[TheRedDragon]

I'm sorry for your loss Kristina. :(

[sneak]

Bummer...I'm really sorry to hear about that. She was a cutie. I know it sucks because I was bummed when my monitor died for no apparent reason.

I'm kinda worried now because I purchased my BCI from Xtreme reptiles this past summer.

[ohh_kristina]

Update: The necropsy results were faxed to me last night. Apparently the snake's heart was quite enlarged, but other than that everything was normal. I haven't had a chance to discuss this with my vet yet, but I figured I would ask here anyway. What could an enlarged heart mean? Heart attack? Birth defect? Thanks for all the comments.

[snakehunter]

there is a membrane thta covers the heart, when an animal gets an enlarged heart water fills inbetween the heart and the membrane, making the heart SEVRAL (?) times the usual size, this inturn puts stress on the heart.

it is not a husbandry issue, it just one of those things that could happen to any animal at any time

sorry for the loss, my condolences

[Yve]

sorry for your loss...take comfort in the fact that you provided a good home for him during his life.

[Linds]

So sorry to hear about the little guy :( Glad to hear it didn't sour your experiences on bloods, but rather fuel it :)