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RIP Glaurung

Z

zlehmann

New member
Hey guys,

I am very sad to report the my first corn snake passed away last night. I'm not entirely sure what happened and I was hoping that the experts on this site might be able to shed some light on this before I try again.

She was about 6 months when I got her and ate the frozen pinkies just fine. Then after about 2 months she started regurging. I think I tracked down the problem to heating on the cool side of her tank. I got an additional heat lamp for that side and she started keeping her lunch down.

Then about a month ago she stopped eating all together. I have no idea what happened. She wanted NOTHING to do with her food. She would shrink away from the mouse as soon as it got close to her. I read on here that sometimes they will just not want to eat so I let her fast herself for another two weeks before I started getting worried. I tried braining them and otherwise mincing the little pinkies but she still wouldn't take it.

Finally two nights ago she struck at one, so I left it in the cage with her like I had done the last two times and she put it down. But then this morning I woke up and she was belly up in a corner of her terrarium. I have no idea what happened! I'm guessing she was sick or something which was causing her to not eat and just couldn't take it anymore.

Anyway I'm pretty shaken up about the whole thing but would really like to know if anyone has any ideas about what happened.

Thanks.
 
I'm so sorry to hear this!

Did her poop smell funny or look slimey?
Was she purchased at a pet shop?
 
Sorry to hear about your loss. Hopefully someone can shed a little light as to why Glaurung passed.
 
Oh Zak, I'm so sorry. I know how hard that is. My first two corns died within a week of each other shortly after I got them. I wish I could help on what went wrong, just sounds like she had some sort of stomach bug that was too much for her to overcome.
 
I am very sorry to hear of your loss, I know how hard it is.

The first 4 corns I bought were from pet stores and 3 have died. One died before we could even get her to the herp vet closest to here and the other two had care and still to no avail.

I have come to learn the very hard way that pet store snakes are often badly bred, kept and cared for prior to your purchasing them. What this means to those of us who love them so much is heart ache and lost money and time back and forth to the vet only to loose them anyway.

Many people on here have helped me through my losses and advised me that purchasing from a reputable breeder is the way to go. I have since purchased from 2 breeders and the experience has far exceeded those of the pet store purchases!!

Again I am unsure if that is where you got your baby from but just trying to say that if it is, then most likely your snakey was ill when you got it and it just go worse. Remember you tried to help it out and give it good care.

You have come to the right place for advice and support, I the next experience you have is much better!!
 
I'm so sorry to hear of your loss! I know how difficult it is to lose a beloved pet and frustrating/scary to not know why.

My first corn was a lovely anery male named Ymir. When he was 6-7 he started having seizures and died. Up until then he seemed healthy and fine - ate, drank, was acting normal. Unfortunately, at the time I was gone for a week and my roommate was watching him, so I can't be sure exactly how he was acting right before he died. When I found him he was twisted around, on his back, with substrate in his mouth.

I actually had a necropsy done by a local reptile vet because I wanted to know what had happened to him. The vet couldn't find anything glaringly wrong with him and said that he suspected he may have contracted a bacterial infection that weakened him and led to his death. He said that sometimes happens and there is not much that can be done (there aren't always outward signs that something is wrong . . . or there isn't a lot that can be done if the problem is correctly identified).

As a side note, something similar happened to my mom's bearded dragon . . . developed a bacterial infection of the brain, stopped eating, lost weight, started having seizures, and died. Even hospitalizing him, putting him on IV fluids, and medication didn't help.

I think because of the different physiology of reptiles and the fact that vets have not devoted as much time learning about the different diseases of reptiles, it can be very hard to diagnose and treat the different illnesses. We have gotten pretty good at recognizing the symptoms/common illnesses of a sick dogs . . . maybe not so much the symptoms/illnesses of a sick snake.

*sighs* Anyway . . . not sure if any of that helps, but I will be thinking of you and the loss of Glaurung
 
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