my baby girl is dead

i woke up and got ready for work and went to go hold my baby seen her outtook off hte lid and she didnt move, so i thought she was seeping i touched her she didnt move, i didnt know what to think then shes usualy always does and she was cold too and i picked her up and knew she was dead, she was limp, and not moving or breathing, i seen something hanging out of her mouth and i was balling then so i tried to stop and it was her bedding.so i started balling harder. i used coconut shedding or what ever the pet store said, they said it was the best stuff, well im never using it again. and my mom was telling me i killed her cuz i took out the sand and swiched back to the bedding i had, and saying it was my falt and ya. and it looks like im moving in my own place lonely and i wanted to thank everyone for helping me eith all my snake problims and questions and such it did help and maby someday ill try it again but not anytime soon.

Oh noooooo!!! I'm so sorry, Sherry. I don't know what to say... you were so excited about the little one...

Did you see any signs of illness in the past week or so? Maybe we can help you determine what happened.

she wasnt ill at all, she ate 3 pinkies newyears and today would be my day of holding her , she was healthy was was about ready to shed she was in a blue phase and just cleared up. i miss her already its just not the same without her intwined in my fingers or curled up sleeping in my hand or exsploring, and its sad to look in her cage and see nothing and know shes gone. i am in the middle of moving and set up a corner of my room just to her had pics print of her, i really wish she was still alive. if i knew her bedding would have done that i wouldnt have gotten that bedding, i was paying extra attention to her cuz she was shedding too i want to see her shed her skin this time cuz tonarrow is my day off. i wanted to seeif shed get darker or longer and so on but now i cant, i miss my little baby, she was the only thing i had that i love. it make me feel dead inside and to know my family is blaming me for her death too. if i would have known that i wouoldnt have done it, why would i want to kill her, i wouldnt.i have to go thanks again though it did help, my friend got a corn today ill teach her the stuff all of you taught me. thanks again

Did you feed her on the bedding? Can you post exactly what kind you used? The cause of death COULD have been impaction caused by the bedding, but let's not immediately jump to that conclusion.

You said she was cold, and 3 pinkies seems like a lot for such a small snake (if memory serves me right), but if it WAS too much, you would have had a regurg and not a death (no matter what the temps were).

I have no answers for you, Sherry. I'm really sorry for your loss. If there's anything we can do to help prevent this from happening again, now is the time to tell us the details so we can determine the cause. I could be WAY off base here, but if a snake is sick and has a seizure (for example), it might be possible that the substrate can accidentally go into the mouth, so what you saw might have been just that (and not injested during feeding time). I know blue lights have that sort of effect on some snakes (was it pcar who's snake was having seizues under the blue light?) Did it look slimy, or like the snake was throwing up? Was there a lump before the vent (constipated)?

Man... I know how much you loved that snake. I'm just so, so sorry.

Don't let this discourage you though. In time I'm sure you'll get another one and it will live a long and healthy life.

i never fed her in her cage i always put her in another cage with absolutly nothing and i gave her a bath befer her meal to make sure nothing was on her cuz i read a story about a snake eqting he bedding while eating, so i went the extra step thinking i was doing a favor and giving her a bath to make sure nothing was on her, he didnt have a lump, she looked normal, i didnt see anything wrong i dont use a black light, i used light theat repersented the sun, she looked normal besides a piece of bedding was in her mouth, she never tweeked or anything, and i think she did it sometime within the 3 hours i slept. i want her back so bad. i tried everything to keep her alive i always asked new questioned that might happen i was always a=calling the pet store i just wanted the best for her, and now i dont have her. these last 5 months with her was the best i ever had, comming home from work looking forword to having someone home waiting for me, having a reson to come home, having her shed for the first time, watching her eat the first time and holding her the first time and looking at her the first night i had her. i just dont no what to do, i have a empty snake cage and 75 frozen pinkies in the freezer, when i found her she wasnt in a strange mody position, she was laying outin the middle of her cage like always just this time she wasnt breathingother then my great grandmas death this is the worst day ever

shes been eating 3 pinkies for the last 3 weeks anddoes just fine, i was going to try a larger pinky cuz with the pinkies i was feeding her there was barly a lumpi would mesure her but i cant look at her without crying my head off and feel like getting sick and a lot of sadness.

Bummer. Sorry to hear of your loss. It always sucks to loose a pet but it's even worse when it's unexpected. Hang in there Sherry.

oh sherry, i too am really very sorry to hear of your loss.
i lost my 8 year old female corn last july from kidney disease, and now another of my females has the same thing so im preparing myself for the worst, even though i saw it coming it still hits you real hard, but it does get easier i can assure you on that.
you will never forget your slinky, obviously, a dear pet will remain in your heart forever but soon you will think back to happier times and know that she is safe and sound and well now.
again, sorry to hear of this.

Sherry,

I am terribly sorry to hear of your loss. I want you to know that I agree with Spirit...I don't think your bedding caused your pet's death. If she was impacted, she would not have been eating so well. You may never know what caused here unexpected death, but please do not blame yourself.

I do want to mention one thing to you...if you decide to get another snake, make sure you TOTALLY disinfect the tank, supplies, etc. before getting one. You don't want to take the chance of your new snake getting whatever Slinky had (if it was a transmissable disease).

Hang in there!

I am so sorry to hear about that Sherry, I know how much you loved the little girl! I agree with the others, if she was eating well with no problems, it doesn't sound like she became impacted enough to kill her in 4 days. Don't blame yourself, sometimes these things just happen unfortunately. I know you can't replace Slinky, but maybe you can open your heart to a new little one in time. Our thoughts are with you.

Sorry for the loss Sherry, my thoughts are with you.

sorry to hear of your loss sherry

Sorry about your loss Sherry, will be thinking about u

My sympathies to you Sherry I agree that it's most likely she picked up the substrate in her mouth as she was passing away and that it wasn't the cause of death. You definitely did the right thing swapping from sand, so please don't beat yourself up. Sometimes perfectly healthy youngsters can die for no obvious reason.

Sadly~ it happens sometimes. I lost several the first year I was trying to keep snakes. It may have been something in your husbandry that you have not realized~ or sometimes you just get a baby that just isn't going to make it for some reason or another~

I'm sorry for your loss. Try not to give up~ read some more and make sure your husbandry is right~ clean EVERYTHING with bleach (10% solution works~ rinse really well~ and let dry in the sun on a warm day) And maybe look into getting a slightly larger baby from a breeder (I really think the larger/older babies are best for beginers)

Good luck in the Future!

I, too, am sorry for your loss. It's a horrible shock to find one gone with no sign of illness, but it certainly does happen. I've seen it, so have many others. I also agree with the others in that it is highly unlikely the substrate caused the death. She most likely got substrate in her mouth as she was passing on. They will do that sometimes. I've even seen them bite themselves. Impactions won't cause a death that quickly, especially since she had just eaten and was doing fine. You can also usually feel a very noticeable hard lump in the area of an impaction in one so small.

Again, sorry for your loss, unfortunately is happens, no matter how much we try to prevent it. Take your time to grieve, but don't get discouraged. Disinfect your viv as others said. If you feel you must change bedding, I wouldn't go back to sand. Not only can it cause impactions, but it's very drying and rough on their skin. If you want something too big to cause an impaction, you may try Repti Bark or you could consider using newspaper or some other non-particulate substrate. I honestly don't think your substrate was the problem, but I know how it can make you never want to use it again, anyway.

My sympathies.

thanks, she was the best snake, she was the only thing i loved that someone in my family didnt take to the pound like they usually do and she was my world other than working, and it was hard yesterday finding her and having my family blame me then having to go to work and im a chashire so it was easy. exspecialy sonce i was thinking what killed her, was it painfull, did it hurt her all along, and just missing someone to come home too. i might get one sometime i wanna get one that i feel something like i did with her, aand when i do im getting it from a breader and not the pet store i got slinky from. she was the kind of snake i wanted but when i seen her i didnt care cuz i loved her from the start and it was cuz she was cute even though she was the cutest one from them all.i always wanted a butter maby this time illlget one, thanks againand you were right i would never forget slinky she waas way to special to me

Wow...this is not the first post I wanted to read today on the boards!

Sherry...I am so sorry for your loss. Everyone here knows how special she was to you. I know it will take a while before you would even consider getting another one. I know when I lost my first snake I was devasted. A few months later a got another and I loved him also. He won't replace Slinky, but he will also brighten up your day like Slinky did....

thank you guys so much, it helpped me a lot, between everyone here and at my job it helped me relized i didnt kill her like my mom was saying, the pain wont leave but your righti can have another snake i know it wont be her, and it wont ever take her place but it will be special. i just want a special one like she was. she ment and still means everything to me, and i would give up anything to have her back to look in her cage and see her, i keep thinking this is a horable dreams and oneday ill wake up and there she'll be waiting for me to hold her. but dang this isnt a dream i wish it was i wish i still had my baby girl .i will get another snake or maby even 2 but she has a special place with me. i loved and still love her and i wont ever stop. thanks for all the support

So sorry to hear about your snake. I noticed she was an albino, and I wanted to add that albino animals often have more problems than non-albinos. I've read stories about albino pythons dying at a young age for no apparent reason, and I know dogs that are albinos have lots of health issues normally and tend not to live very long. If you want a better chance next time, you might consider going with a non-albino corn. I could be totally wrong, but that's my gut instinct, based on albinos of other species. Like you said, getting one from an established breeder is probably better than a pet shop. I hope you get another one. Btw, newspaper or paper towels are perfectly acceptable substrates, especially for young Corns. Pet shops will try to sell you an expensive bag of wood shavings, but it's definitely optional.