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, I think Ammy has died :/

A

Arby

New member
We just checked up on Ammy (our female snake) and she was lying on her back, lifeless. We took her out but she's all "floppy", not moving at all and I can't see her breathing. I put her on the heat mat but she hasn't moved at all. How can I be sure one way or the other?


Compared with Taka (our other snake) she's never been too well off though. She was smaller to start with, and missed a feeding at the shop. She missed several feedings at our place, but we finally got her eating again. She was always quite "placid" and lifeless though.

Recently, we noticed that her skin was a bit "flappy" (that is, rather than being full-bodied, her skin was loose at the sides in some places). She was also a lot more lethargic than usual. She missed her last two feedings (every friday) and has been rapidly losing weight (although she never grew very much).

She hasn't shedded in ages either. Is there any way that we can tell what she died from? There doesn't seem to be any reason - we keep the snakes well fed, change their water daily, they have places to hide and heat mats at 1/3 on a thermostat and the temp gagues report normal (26c - 29c).

The only thing that I can think is that we have been burning incense sticks recently - but then, Taka doesn't seem at all affected by this.

If anyone has any ideas, we would be most grateful.

Thank you,
Arby.
 
sorry for your loss, it's always hard when you do everything like you're supposed to and they still don't make it. i can't help ya with COD, but for future reference, incense sticks are not a good idea, because snakes are VERY susceptible to respiratory problems!
 
Oh Arby, I'm so sorry to hear this, I haven't seen you around the forum and thought all was going well with your little ones!

It does sound like Ammy may have passed away or is very close to doing so, unfortunately. The reason why? I have no idea. Sometimes little ones just fail to thrive, no matter what you do for them, I've recently lost three little ones myself, so I have an idea of how you must be feeling.

Don't beat yourself up about it, you did everything you could for her, but mother nature can be cruel sometimes.

The incense sticks....hmmm....I've always been told to be very careful using chemicals and smelly things around reptiles as they can be very sensitive to them, so I don't use anything like that at all. Sorry I couldn't be more helpful on that, but if in doubt, do without is my motto.

The only way to get a definitive answer on why she died, would be to get a necropsy done by a vet and even then it may not be conclusive. Not sure how much that would cost but it might mean spending out and still not getting an answer, it's up to you though.

I hope that's helped you some, best wishes,
 
Arby, very sorry to hear about all your problems.

Just hearing what you have said here and the little bit of history I know, I just have a feeling that something was not right inside to begin with. I know you have tried hard to do the right thing and I just don't believe that the cause is with husbandry.
 
katia - Thank you, and yeah, I've heard that some hatchlings are just never born to "make it". And good point, I'll stop burning those then. Taka's still perfectly healthy though!

Susielea - I know, they were going so well! Well, Ammy always had her feeding problems, but I always just dealt with that as normal - wait a couple of days, try again, if nothing then wait until next week and try her in the smaller pot, etc. Usually works, but then.. She always had feeding problems :(.

We were thinking about getting a necropsy - depends how much it will cost though, I don't have money to burn. I'm mostly worried about if she had a disease, and I need to quarentine Taka as well :/.


wade - Thank you :). That's what I feel too, but my g/f is beating herself up over it because it's her first snake and she feels it was her fault :(.


Thank you all for your support. My cat finally passed away over Xmas time as well (old age though I think, she was about 16 - old for a cat) so it's been a bit of a difficult time. But then, that's life I guess. Still, it's pretty difficult since they're my first snakes and I don't know if I'm doing anything wrong... But then Taka still seems fine, soo...

Well, at least she was able to live out her last few months in a nice viv with proper heating and food and water and care - rather than being sealed in a little darkened plastic box in a pet shop with no-where to hide or anything. RIP sweetie, we'll miss you :(.
 
Arby - Very sorry to hear. Losing a little one that you've worked so hard with to help it survive is tough, I know.
 
Sorry to hear that, I lost my first snake too and it took me a while to stop wondering whether it was something I did wrong or not. I now believe it wasn't anything I did wrong, since my second snake is thriving very well on the same husbandry practices. Like others have said, and I'd have to agree, some hatchlings just aren't destined to make it into adulthood.
 
Thank you guys :) I appreciate the thoughts. Wylie - same situation here, I figure since Taka's healthy and fine then it must just be a stroke of bad luck with Ammy. It's a shame that some snakes are never destined to make it :(.
We buried her today, so she can be at peace now. At least she had a nice life here rather than in a stuffy pot in a shop. I hope we made her happy :).
 
I'm sorry for your loss... a few years ago I had a full adult and she was very healthy, so I decided to get a baby and raise that one... Well the baby just wouldnt feed and sounds like the same problems you faced, and she passed. It was pretty tough on me and I understand what you're goin through. Try again... it took me a few years but I'm raising a new one and I'm very excited about it again
 
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