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What happened? Red tail dead.

A

Aeromeggy

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I am so distraught. The gorgeous little red tail I posted a picture of a couple weeks ago (under Look! Purchased our first boas!) is dead. I went in tonight to check on her and she was laying there, dead. It must have happened within the last few hours because there was no rigor yet. We had just fed her Tuesday and when my husband cleaned her cage yesterday she was well and active. What could have happened? I keep her in a rack with temps between 82 and 88, she was on paper towel with a water bowl and hide. We didn;t accidentally crush her head. I'm so upset...she was my first boa and so nicely colored to boot. I am taking her back to the store tomorrow, and I know I can get a clutch mate in exhange, but should I be concerned that there may be something wrong with the clutch, or could it just be a fluke?
 
Are other animals in the same rack? If not, the first thing that came to my mind was a thermostat failure, sometimes they can malfunction and badly overheat before shutting themselves down or burning out. Are the temps normal now?

That's just the first thing that came to my mind, but without more info, it's hard to make any real guesses....have you considered getting an autopsy done on her to see what caused her death?
 
Where did you get the feeder?

I had an animal die suddenly after a feeding a few years back. A necropsy linked the death to the feeder. The snake was posioned. Turns out the petstore kept the feeders in the back on cedar bedding and gave them flea baths regularly.

Get a necropsy done ASAP to determine what caused the death.
 
Yes, I have kingsnakes in the rack as well, and they are fine, so it couldn't be a malfunction in the heating system.
 
I but my feeders in bulk, frozen. I have fed it and other snakes mice out of the pack it's food came from Tuesday and they are fine.
 
OK, that probably rules out the feeder then.

If there was no heating malfunction, the animal may have been sick from the beginning. Snakes are VERY good at hiding illnesses.

A necropsy is probably the only way to find out why it suddenly died.
 
Yes, I am aware that all reptiles re quite good at kiding illnesses until it is too late...though I must say I have never had a pefectly healthy looking and acting snake be dead the next day.

At this point, I am so upset I'm not even sure I want to try again, though I have wanted a red tail for awhile and I kbow this shouldn't deter me. Should I be concerned about getting a snake from the same clutch?
 
I would definitely be concerned.....not knowing what killed this one, it could be either a communicable illness or even a genetic defect that is hidden. I would get the necropsy done.
 
Sometimes, babies just up and die. No logical explanation. Nothing obvious. They just die. I did not take a look at your other post so I am making the assumption, based upon your wording that this was a baby. If so, I would not waste my time or money on a necropsy. On average, you are looking at over $200 and often times the necropsy's are either vague or inconclusive. Assuming your other animals are doing well then I say move on. If you have ANY other signs in your animals then a necropsy is a must. I am also assuming since this was a new baby that you had it quarantined?

Griz
 
Yes, she was a baby, probably only a couple of months old. She was in her own shoebox in the rack, though there are other snakes in the rack, but in their own shoeboxes (she was never in contact with any other snake since I bought her. In the shop, she was with her clutchmates). None of the oher animals seems to be showing any signs of illness at this point.
 
Griz said:
Sometimes, babies just up and die. No logical explanation. Nothing obvious. They just die. I did not take a look at your other post so I am making the assumption, based upon your wording that this was a baby. If so, I would not waste my time or money on a necropsy. On average, you are looking at over $200 and often times the necropsy's are either vague or inconclusive. Assuming your other animals are doing well then I say move on. If you have ANY other signs in your animals then a necropsy is a must. I am also assuming since this was a new baby that you had it quarantined?

Griz
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I personally would not feel comfortable getting another animal from the same litter without knowing what killed the first one.......and this one was doing fine as well, until it was dead. :shrug01:
 
I would go where you got that one and at least see if any litter mates are looking ill. But I would get one from a different source if I was you.
 
Sorry for the loss, if you really wanted another I would get one from one of the reputable people on this board or online.
 
While we are on the subject of animals passing away, sorry again, I work at FedEx and we had a male 20 year old gorilla coming in from memphis to cleveland where I work. He was supposed to be heading to the cincy zoo to try to breed and sadly died on the plane to cleveland. They gave him a tranquilizer to put him to sleep and he never woke :( . Sad to see a 500 pound animal lie there helpless.
 
DooberRT said:
Sorry for the loss, if you really wanted another I would get one from one of the reputable people on this board or online.
Click to expand...


I don't want it to seem like the person I got it from isn't reputable. I have gotten almost all of my other snakes from him and they have all been healthy and still alive.
 
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