Sudden and unexpected death

[heatwave]

I am heatbroken. My stripe male (The one in my avatar actually) Sunny, died overnight last night. He was fine before I went to work, checked on everyone, and he was right in his favorite place stretched out. He even lifted his head and looked up at me when I slid his tub out of the rack. This morning 12 hours later he was in the exact same spot but dead. He looked so incredibly lifelike that I had to pick him up and handle him for several seconds to realize he was dead. I have been racking my brain for any signs/symptoms. The only thing I can think of is he refused his last meal but I wasn't really concerned, he was always an off/on eater and sometimes skipped a meal and would eat a larger meal the next time. His stools have been totally normal, no mites, no URI, no wheezing, nothing at all that I can think of.

I do NOT know how old Sunny was. He was a craigslist boy that I adopted from someone who in turn had purchased him as an adult from a pet store. I've never had any health problems with him at all.

I am thinking of doing a necropsy on him as he is the first snake I have ever had die on me like this. I am looking for some advice on how to proceed and if this sounds like the right thing to do, and anything else I need to do to make sure my other kids are ok :(

[Lyreiania]

I am so very sorry to hear of your loss. My most sincere condolences. I do not know enough about necropsies to give you cogent advice there, I just wanted to express my deepest sympathies. I know how very hard it is to deal with the loss of a beloved pet.

[Joba]

Condolences for your loss. I would try calling my vet (who does treat snakes).

[hypnoctopus]

Oh, that's awful, I'm so sorry. I've heard that you should put his body in the fridge (not the freezer) to store it until you're able to get a necropsy done.

[hypnoctopus]

Here's a list of NC reptile vets I found:

http://www.anapsid.org/vets/northcarolina.html
http://www.herpvetconnection.com/nocarol.shtml

[heatwave]

Thanks everyone- I did contact my herp vet after I finished checking on everyone else and removing his cage from the rack (in case of something contagious). luckily he also told me to put his body in the fridge before I stuck him in the freezer, cause thats where I initially was going to put him. He gave me the info for taking him to do a necropsy, im just not sure yet if I am going to do it. Do you think it is necessary? Will a necropsy tell you anything about cause of death if its a natural cause or only if theres some sort of high bacteria or obvious contagian?

[bitsy]

I'm so sorry for your loss. A couple of weeks ago I found one of my adults dead as well. No warning, no signs of distress, no missed feeds and moving around normally the day before. Sadly she'd passed early in the night on the heat mat so by the time I found her the next morning, a necropsy wouldn't have been feasible. I wish I knew what had taken her.

If you get a necropsy done there's a chance that it will come up blank (I guess snakes can have things like unexplained heart attacks like any other animal/human) but at least you *might* understand what happened. I'd say it's worth it just so that you can know you've done everything possible to find out. Plus it will be a comfort to confirm that it was nothing potentially transmissible to your other snakes.

[heatwave]

Oh dear- I did not think of that- he was also on the warm side near the heat tape and was stiff when I picked him up so he must have died early in the night. So he was stiff but was also fairly warm to the touch because he was near the heat tape. The vet didn't talk to me about that, do you think a necropsy is not possible for him now?

[bitsy]

Well my lass was, not to be delicate about it, smelly. I realised something was wrong as soon as I woke up - and my bedroom's at the other end of the flat. Her body had really started to degrade - she must've passed hours before I found her.

Given that you were able to pick your lad up and not immediately realise that he'd gone, I'd say you still have a good chance.

[heatwave]

yes- he did not smell yet and was still quite life like (bright eyes, bright scales). I will call the number the vet gave me in the morning and see what they say.

So sorry for your loss!! And it must have just been awful to see a beloved pet in that state :( Sunny is the first snake I have ever had die that was not euthenized- the other two were rescues I lost after a long battle with illness (one a non feeder and the other a really bad case of mouth rot and URI that had been neglected for months) and this was very traumatic just to find him there with no preperation or chance to say goodbye :(

[Nanci]

I'm really sorry for your loss. A necropsy would reveal things like a bowel obstruction or a bacterial infection or crypto. You might get information that would set your mind at ease about the rest of your collection, or you might find out about a contagion that you hadn't known about, in time to protect the others.

But- just because some cornsnakes live to be 25 years old, that's the high end. There are many, many others who live a normal lifespan, or a shorter lifespan. He could have just been old.

[BloodyBaroness]

I'm very sorry for your loss. It's never easy to loose one.

Which vet are you using?

I very highly recommend Griffin Exotics. http://www.griffinexotics.com/ (http://www.griffinexotics.com/)

[heatwave]

I'm very sorry for your loss. It's never easy to loose one.

Which vet are you using?

I very highly recommend Griffin Exotics. http://www.griffinexotics.com/ (http://www.griffinexotics.com/)

^^ My vet :D. Also CVS in huntersville for emergency trips.

[BloodyBaroness]

^^ My vet :D. Also CVS in huntersville for emergency trips.

Cool beans! Both are really awesome. One of my best friend's is a tech at CVS in Huntersville.