Sudden Death of Corn Snake

[Seymour13]

My Corn Snake died very suddenly. I raised him from a baby, he was 9 years old, and never had any health issues. He fed about 4 days ago, was still active and alert. Two nights ago he started spitting blood from the nose and mouth. He was dead within a few hours. I've searched all over and can't find any possible reason for this. Anyone ever heard of this or know what possibly could have gone wrong? Could it have been a bad mouse??

[Lankyrob]

So sorry for your loss - afraid i cant offer any help but i hope that others can.

[shaunyboy]

my personal thoughts were,cancer,tumor,renal failure,rupture of some sort in the lung

a bad mouse did not cross my mind as i think it is highly unlikely to be the cause

he would have regurged anything untoward imo

was he eating and acting normal right up until that momment mate ?

eating and poo'ing normal ?

did he lose any wieght ?

my condolances for your loss

as has been said in willows retic thread

focus on the joy you had in working with him for the 9 years he was with you

have you got the vet to do a post mortem ?

cheers shaun

[Xanafein]

definitely sounds like internal issues, perhaps th mouse wasn't quite dead when it went down? i had a friend who lost his BP because the mouse wasn't quite dead when he chomped it

[Will0W783]

I'm so very sorry for your loss...it hurts to lose a pet, especially one that's been with you for so many years. I would have the vet do a postmortem exam to see if he/she can find any cause. I do not know of any infectious snake diseases that cause expulsion of blood, but it's possible it was a tumor, or internal injuries from swallowing the mouse wrong?

[Jenn_06]

wow this must be a bad month for pets, i know many people that just lost there pet and we just lost our gecko yesterday morning. im so sorry for your loss, all i can think of is a tumor rupture maybe.

[shaunyboy]

its the same on a uk forum i use

i have never seen a month with so many sudden deaths

roughly 6 or 7 have been announced on the uk forum the last 3 or 4 weeks

sorry to hear about your ghecko mate

cheers shaun

[Marica]

My condolences on the loss of your Corn. Seeing as it was quite a few days post feed, I'm not sure it had anything to do with that. Also, I'm assuming it was f/t, and if it was 'bad' he probably would have just regurgitated it. I agree that it was most likely something internal like Shaun suggested above as it sounds like it was brought on quite suddenly. And, if so, there was probably nothing you could have done. While I have heard of some captive Corns living to 20 years of age, some care sheets suggest their lifespan to be 10-15 years. Perhaps it was just his time to go. Again, I'm very sorry for loss :'(

[Seymour13]

Thanks to everyone for the condolences...it's not an easy thing to deal with, when you've had them so long. I didn't think it had to do with the mouse, more likely a tumor or rupture as many of you have suggested. At least it was over quickly, so hopefully he didn't suffer too much. Thanks again to everyone, means a lot!!!

[marvelfreak]

My condolences to both of you Seymour and Jenn. Sorry for your lost.

[Xanafein]

i would be at a loss if it happened to me, the closest i have is my dog being put down, but he wasnt mine, and i wasnt as attached to him as i was sweetheart

[Will0W783]

So sorry for your loss of your gecko, Jenn. It's sure been a rough month for animals! My mom lost two cats this past month.

[Jenn_06]

Thank you everyone she was my 6 year olds had her for 5 years, and im so sorry about your retic from your posts i can tell she was loved alot.

[Will0W783]

Thanks Jenn. I miss her terribly- she was one-of-a-kind.