Please help if you can!!!!!

[keithboo]

I purchased my first cornsnake about 2 and a half months ago from Petco, was told she looked to be about 3-4 months old. Seems like every thing was going fine had a little trouble shedding ( found a way to help her on this site). She seemed like she was in good health, just seems like she did not gain weight or get any bigger. Talked to a friend of a friend who is a vet and he said that he thinks it is just that she is still getting use to being handled and her new cage. Them last monday (6/18/12) I fed her a pinkie and it seems to have take her a long time to eat it ( about 20-25 min) but she seems o be ok after and I put her back in her cage. Came home from work wednesday afternoon and found she had regurged the pinkie. So I cleaned up her cage and left her alone for 7 days, I looked on her every day trying not to scare her or anything. Then yesterday morning I went to check her again and found she had passed away in the middle of her tank. I picked her up and her under belly had turned black. Any advise would greatly be appreciated as I still have another cornsnake and dont want this one to leave me too! Thanks in advance Keith
P.S. The temp is 82-83 hot side, 74-75 cold side with about 41 percent humitity. Thanks again

[Nanci]

Was the other snake in with her? Had she eaten for you before and kept it down?

I'm sorry your snake died...

[keithboo]

No the other snake has his own cage. Yes she ate every sunday or monday which every I had off from work and never had any problems eating or keeping it down.

[BloodyBaroness]

I'm so sorry you went through all that. The black you saw on the belly is something normal that happens to snakes after they pass away.

How were you measuring the temperature from the heater? Is your other snake in similar housing?

[keithboo]

I have a temp gauge with a extended probe that is inside the rock on the hot side where she always hides/stays during the day and the unit is on the cold side and it has a build in humitity gauge.

[Nanci]

It sure doesn't sound like you've done anything "wrong." How big was the pink compared to the diameter of the snake? Was it the same size you had been feeding her previously?

[Nanci]

And did you buy the two snakes at the same time, out of the same batch?

[keithboo]

No I got them from 2 separate batches and the pinkies r all about the same size that I been giving to both of them.

[keithboo]

The pinkie might have been a little bigger now that I think about it and thats why I figured it took longer to eat but Im more worried about as to why she regured more than the eating aspect of it.

[obboi34]

:( perhaps the pinky was too large for her? My corn is about that age and size and she's only just about to graduate to food heavier than 2g. your snake may have had an undetectable kink in her digestive or skeletal system that made digestion difficult.

[beautifullywild77]

With a Petco snake you really just never know the health of the animals. I am sorry for your loss.

[Lyion]

Sorry about your loss. But if you buy animals from chain stores like Petco, they tend to die. My gerbil from petco got fatally sick within weeks and my fish died quickly and illness killed the rest. I only buy from breeders now.

[crotalis40741]

Sorry about your loss. But if you buy animals from chain stores like Petco, they tend to die. My gerbil from petco got fatally sick within weeks and my fish died quickly and illness killed the rest. I only buy from breeders now.


Yeah some do die from those places but there are a lot of folks on here with Petco finds that are quite nice and doing very well. Yes it is best to buy from a reputable breeder as to knowing the background and genetics on the snake.

[beautifullywild77]

I have 2 beautiful Petco snakes that are healthy and thriving.

[BloodyBaroness]

I have 4 petco/petsmart animals, 3 snakes and gecko. They are 100% healthy and just fine.

To the OP you may have just gotten a little snake that was not going to thrive. It's a sad thing of nature, but that's why snakes lay so many eggs. Some just don't make it.

Even the biggest and best breeders can produce snakes that don't thrive. It may have been nothing you did.

I'm really sorry for your loss.

[keithboo]

Maybe thats is what happen. Im starting to feel a little better about it. Thanks again everyone!

[crotalis40741]

Was that the only snake you have?

[keithboo]

In that cage yes but i have male caramel stripe thats about 4 months old

[Lyion]

The petco around here is just really bad. One in Colarado I went to was good, but around here, they just don't care.

[LiQuIdAnGeR]

I’m sorry about your snake, sadly I have the same story with my first Corn I got at petco. My little Rango only lasted that long as well. I thought it would be a great deal, a corn snake for $20. I became a member here as soon as I got him and did all the things everybody said about taking care of him and still had the same result. I bought my current corn snake from a breeder online for $90 I’ve been taking care of him the same way and he eats like a champ and just shed for the first time today. I just think petco gets bad snakes in or there not good at taking care of them. Try getting your next Corn from a online breeder I bet you’ll have better luck.

[diamondlil]

Sorry about your loss, but sadly a percentage of baby snakes just aren't destined to thrive to adulthood, no matter where you buy them from or how good your care of them is. Sometimes even adult snakes die for no apparent reason during brumation but that is more rare. So far over the years I've lost I think 5 babies in their first year, 3 of which were keepers I'd bred myself and chosen what seemed like the biggest, healthiest hatchlings out of a clutch, so don't worry too much as it sounds you were doing everything just fine and that particular baby just wasn't meant to make it.
Good luck with your little caramel