questions yet again

[crazyboy]

as some of you know my corn regurged a couple weeks ago. So i waited two weeks before i fed and last night i gave her a mouse. she didn't eat it so i left it in there and the today i looked in to see if she ate. well she didn't but she was laying belly up next to it and she was't moving. she also had these 2 dark spots on her belly. Why do you think he died. Im really upset. I was thinking of getting one of those things done at the vet where they figure out what they died from. (i forget what its called) but i want to know how much it would cost in USD$. thanks any other advice please.

[crazyboy]

ne1

[scalawag]

I've no idea but I'm really sorry to hear about your snake.

[Dani33]

Sorry, I can't help you with the price of a necropsy or with what happened with your snake. I am sorry that he died though. It's always hard when a pet dies.

[crazyboy]

yea especially being that i hadnt hat it for a while. i woudl like to know what heppend to him so it dosn't happen to any other snakes i get. but i can get a that doen if it costs alot of money.

[vanderkm]

Sorry to hear about the loss of your corn. The price of a necropsy (post mortem examination) will vary depending on where you live and may not be able to determine the cause of death for you. The body would have to have been kept chilled (perferably not frozen) and the examination done within 24 hours of death to give much chance of finding the problem.

The two dark spots are likely the heart and the liver which can be seen readily through the belly wall in light colored snakes. The liver really becomes more obvious after death because of the bile that stains the area in the belly. These are not likely related to the cause of death.

Sorry to hear of the loss of your pet,

mary v.

[Auskan]

The best way to find out the price would probably be to call around to various local vets and just ask them how much they would charge for a necropsy on a snake (after first verifying that they are qualified to do a necropsy on a snake).

[drewlowe]

For me to have a necropsy done it was around 30, but it can go as high as 50, That's in my area. I would do it for piece of mind if it's not to late. Sorry for your loss.

Jamie

[BoidKeeper]

Why do you think he died.
I need more information before I can even begin to sepeculate. All I know is that it regurged and two weeks later you tried to feed it again and it died.
Do you know why it regurged? Do you have pics of the "black spots"?
What was the snake living in? What is the ambiant air temp in the room both day and night? What was the basking spot? Did you handle the snake, if so how often? How old was the snake? Where were you getting your food? How often did you feed it?
I need way more information about the animals husbandry and history before I, or anyone for that matter can make some sort of guess as to what may or may not have happend.
Cheers,
Trevor

[crazyboy]

i think my temps were getting a little low at night and thats why she regurged. That was fixed the next day though. my hot end was at 88 during the day and 79 at night. It was in a rubbermaid. I got her from blue ribbon herps. She was an 03 hatchling. i was feeding it every 5 days. i got the mice from a guy at the reptile expo in Hamburg PA. sorry dont know who it was. I only handled it to clean its enclosure or to feed it because i fed it in a different enclosure. after i left her for 2 weeks after she regurged she looked kind of thin. is it possible that after 2 weeks she got so thin that she wouldn't be able to down a tiny pinkie.

[crazyboy]

also the humidity spiked for a couple hours. could this be the reason?

[Andy_G]

None of that sounds like a possible reason for a cornsnake to die, they are very hardy and can easily handle temps as low as 65 at night and they can handle humidity fairly well for short amounts of time as well. My advice is to get a necropsy done so then there won't be any room for guessing. Sorry for your loss.

[crazyboy]

well it might be too late to get a necropsy done. because it was dead for like 24 hours and then i just put it in the fridge because i didn't know what to do with it.

[Nicky]

I"m so sorry to hear for your lose:( losing a pet is like losing a best friend.
best wishes
kayla

[BoidKeeper]

i think my temps were getting a little low at night
What makes you think that?

That was fixed the next day though.
The day after the regurge? How did you fix it if you weren't sure it was broke? Did you have some way of measuring the temps?

my hot end was at 88 during the day and 79 at night.
If your hot end was droping by 10 degrees (that's a lot) how cold was your cold end getting?

If the corn was eatting regulary then two weeks off would not have hurt it at all. I personally would have waited 3 weeks before trying to feed it again.

Snakes regurge beacause,
- They are stressed. This can be caused by over handling. No hide boxes. Housed with other herps. No acclimation period given. Stress is also caused by ilness. Ilness also causes stress. Both reduce imune which opens the door to a host of problems.
- They have a blockage. Cause by substrate injestion.
- They are fed a food item that is too large or fed too often.
- They have paracites. Can get them from bad feeders.

Those are just some of the reasons that come to mind for a regurge. Corns are harty snakes they don't usually dies from one regurge. I had a corn regurge on me when it was a hatchling because I fed it too often and it didn't die. I think the regurge was not the cause of the death but a symptom of the cause.

How long did you have it? How many meals did it have while you had it? Was it deficating regulary?
Trevor

[crazyboy]

I did have a thermometer. it got down to about 70 at night. then i turned it up a little. then the temps were good. The temps at night now are prabable aobut low 80's to high 70's. the daytime temps are from about 84-88. i had it for a month. I fed it twice then it regurged the third meal. then it wouldn't eat the fourth. Yes it would defeciate quite often. Like a couple times per week.

[BoidKeeper]

How long did you wait before feeding it it's first meal?
Trevor

[crazyboy]

It was like 5 days.

[BoidKeeper]

Well that is about normal for a corn, especially if it was established. You may want to contact the breeder to see if they will replace it for you. Maybe it was dying before you got it.
I wish I could offer something more concreat but even after all you've told me I can't find any obviouse causes.
Best wishes,
Trevor

[crazyboy]

i contacted the breeder he said he will give me a discount and hold a new one for me for free until the show on march 20

[BoidKeeper]

Well that's good!
Best of luck with the new one.
Cheers,
Trevor

[crazyboy]

thanks for all your help trevor.