An Unfortunate Loss

[bigsnakegirl785]

Originally Posted by Snakesitter

I'm so sorry for your loss. :-(

Keep in mind that all not all baby snakes are meant to reach adulthood. The reason they have such large litters is to make sure at least one survives. I've had litters where one or more just did not make it, in some cases with no warning at all. My best guess is in line with Aaron's -- that there was an underlying issue that killed her, of which the regurg was just a symptom.

As for the worms, unless you noticed them in other poos/urates of hers, they probably arrived after the fact.

The lab should be able to confirm all of this.

Two final cautions:

One, make sure the lab uses an experienced *exotic* pathologist for any diagnosis. Have them save any samples used to make the diagnosis, just in case you need to send them elsewhere for a second opinion. That saved my butt once after a lab messed everything up with a misdiagnosis.

Two, just in case, treat her prior enclosure as if it is contaminated with the plague. Toss all substrate and furnishings that cannot be bleached. Wear disposable gloves. Better paranoid than sorry.

Good luck, and please keep us posted on the lab's findings.

Unfortunately I'm not sure if I can do that now, and my vet did say they don't do necropsies, they send it there.

I've already removed her tub from the area, and will be cleaning it. For now, it's safe and out of the way.

The initial examination did not yield any conclusive answers, so they're sending her in for further tests, and I should have the final report on Thursday. They said if I don't hear from them by Friday morning to give them a call.

[Snakesitter]

Again, so sorry, and fingers crossed for you!

[bigsnakegirl785]

So with the recent loss of Guin, I'm being very paranoid. Today I found this in Sanji's tub, a day or two after passing a big normal stool. It darkened quite a bit after I put it in the fridge, it was a lot lighter after I found it. It doesn't smell and is quite firm.

Anyone have any experience with poop/regurge like this? I'm not sure which one it is, and it's weird I found this because his feces was rather large and his digestive tract should have been clear after that. >.>

I'll see if the vet is able to do at least a fecal on this, because the Disease Center is quite a long drive away so I'd like to take it to the vet since they're closer if they can.

Sanji is the only one I've found anything like this in so far, and I've moved him to the living room where it's cooler in case he's too hot and to separate him from the others.

[toddnbecka]

I've found poops similar to that (though usually dry when I find them) from my larger Domincans. It seems that sometimes they pass a clump of light colored and light weight waste that seems to be mainly rodent fur. Other times they'll pass darker, almost black clumps, sometimes with urates and sometimes separately.

[Albert Clark]

Wow, big time loss bsg! I know you are saddened and we are all with you in that. My deepest condolences and I agree with snake sitter and his thoughts. However I do believe that endoparasites certainly could have been the culprit. In any case, everyone on the forum is aware of your expertise and responsible caring of all your animals. Don't blame yourself bc some things are just out of our control as reptile keepers. Please keep us abreast of the lab work. Sorry for your loss again.

[Wingbeats]

That looks like a normal poop to me - my two BRBs occasionally make big poops like that. They seem to be a combo of fur lumps + poop stuff.

[SnoopySnake]

Looks normal to me too. Every now and then mine give me poops that look like that and appear to be mostly fur.

[PsychoSnake]

I had a similar experience with an adult rosy boa. He was a great eater but a month after I got him in September he started to regurge, repeatedly. I took him to the vet and they couldn't find anything wrong with him. His tests always came back negative. Then he stopped eating entirely which is odd for him as he LOVED to eat. Around January he started looking not so great but he died before I was able to get him to the vet. He died in my bedroom just after I went to sleep. I felt so bad when I woke up and found him.

My vet called me afterwards. It was his opinion that my rosy boa was suffering from a viral infection and the only thing we could do was palliative care.

As a safety precaution I bleached everyone's enclosure and snake tools and watched everyone for six months. Bleach is the most effective sanitizer. It didn't resurface.

It's normal to have fears about losing your collection when you suddenly lose someone, but you can't let it control you. Take some time off for yourself too.

[Snakesitter]

Rainbows will occasionally pass hair and hard-to-digest bits such as tails. Totally normal.

[bigsnakegirl785]

Ok good to hear. I've seen stuff like this off and on before, but I didn't want to assume he was healthy if this was abnormal. I figured it was, but obviously I'm a bit on edge. lol So cool, everyone still is showing no signs of illness.

I'm starting to think she really did succumb to a heat stroke. Her breeder seems to think it was possible, too, he said usually when people heat their rooms as warm as I do, they don't provide any extra heat. Ugh, I wish those results would come in. I'll be calling them later this afternoon and hopefully they found something. If anyone would like to view the report, I can post it here when I get in the mail.

[Minkness]

I'm curious what it was.

Is the breeder offering anything? Partial refund or replacement animal?

[bigsnakegirl785]

Originally Posted by Minkness

I'm curious what it was.

Is the breeder offering anything? Partial refund or replacement animal?

He's offering me a small discount on a new baby. I'm not expecting any recompense because I'm pretty sure this is all on me, but I may or may not take him up on his offer. I'm not sure if I want to get another BRB when I have plans to get a snow boa next year. I most likely will get a baby, because I had a few runner-ups that I almost chose over her, if they're still available, but it's not set in stone yet. I may even wait until next season if he plans on breeding more Picassos.

She was my absolute favorite out of all his babies this year, too.

[Minkness]

=(

I saybwait till you get the results. If ot wasn't on you, maybe you could get another baby from the breeder at no charge. Even if it is from next season's babies.

So sorry you aregoing through this. Wish I could send you a cyber hug.

[bigsnakegirl785]

Originally Posted by Minkness

=(

I saybwait till you get the results. If ot wasn't on you, maybe you could get another baby from the breeder at no charge. Even if it is from next season's babies.

So sorry you aregoing through this. Wish I could send you a cyber hug.

I'm not thinking it was the breeder's fault, surely I'd notice illness in my other snakes by now if she was ill, and if it was a congenital disease or she was born with a defect or something it's not his fault either. I won't ask for no charge on a baby, I think he's being quite generous giving me a discount considering I'd had her just over a month.

Thanks Minkness, I had her for only a short time and it still hurt she died. I wanted to watch her grow up and change, but I'm thankful I still have everyone else at least. If it turns out to have been the heat, I'll be sure to be more careful with the young rainbows. Sanji hadn't shown signs of the heated room being too much for him, but he's almost 1.5 years old now so he's not so delicate. He was raised in a room that wasn't heated, although he still faired pretty well in the summer without an A/C (I think the moss kept him nice and cool).

[Snakesitter]

They may not be able to say for sure if it was heat. While rainbows and heat do not mix well, this often won't be apparent on a necropsy. (And if it was heat, the age difference would explain it...at 1.5 years they have much better tolerance for the occasional climate or water oops.) Fingers crossed they can give you some closure.