Sick snake!

[rushrulz]

I came home and found Blaise at the front of his cage. He didn't seem to be responding much to me, so I took him out. He's really lethargic. I put him in a container with some lukewarm water, thinking he might be cold, but...he's still lethargic. He's just...floating. He moves his head occasionally or responds a little to me, but...what's up with him?

[MegF.]

I would not be putting him in water. Snakes should feel cool to the touch anyway. If you think he might be cold, bump up the warm side temps. I would get him to a vet though. Doesn't sound good!

[rushrulz]

I'm pretty sure this is the same thing that happened with Severus, who died. I thought he might be cold partly because so much of his cage is cold right now, what with the record low coming.

Anyway, he definitely seems to be "on his last legs." I put him back in his cage for now, on the warm side.

It's not a food thing, is it? He's only eaten 3 times since I got him, but I've always been under the impression that it's more that he's just picky than anything else--seeing as he has eaten and all.

[diamondlil]

What are the temperatures? If the room is comfortable for you the cool side should be ok for your corn, not cause any problems. Did you get Blaise from the same place as Severus? Maybe a trip to the vet would be a good idea

[diamondlil]

And I agree with Meg, I wouldn't put a weak snake in water at all. I've picked up my snakes from their cool sides and they've felt really cool to the touch, but warmed up in my hands pretty quickly.

[MegF.]

It really doesn't matter how cold the outside is, your house, I presume has a heater. Most people keep their heat somewhere in the range of the 70's to 80 degrees in the winter. That should be more than warm enough for your snake. Even if you keep it in the 60's like I do, the heat mat will provide warmth for them if they go there. I'd bump up his temps and get him to a vet. Especially if you have a history of another snake doing the same thing. Were they in the same room and from the same place?

[rushrulz]

Well, he died, so it's too late to worry about vets. His temperatures were OK--he had mid-80s at the warmest spot. The rest varied but much of it was at least 70 most of the time. He had a mat and a lamp. He was sleeping a lot, going into this, and Sev did the same--just conked out in one spot for days.

I looked him over, anyway. It's hard to tell what's what because he was a snow coral and is thus sort of translucent. I don't know which dark spots are just organs and which are problems.

[lyndy299]

This really isnt good. Im really sorry about your loss, particularly since its the second time this has happened. Did you get the snakes from the same place? If yes, I would consider the possibility of either internal parasites/disease. If not, the problem must be set-up based. Either way, I think it would be best for you to find out what the problem is before getting another corn, if this is what you want to do. It may be worth taking the snake to get a post mortem as this would most likely determine the cause of death...assuming you have a decent reptile vet near you. Hope this helps.

[MegF.]

I would agree with the post mortem, especially in light of losing two. Make sure you only refridgerate, not freeze the body or you will destroy the tissue and render it useless for pathology. I'm sorry about your loss.

[ascottlaw]

I've noticed that some of your posts about Severus and Blaise talked about problems with your UTH not being warm enough and that you were using lights for extra warmth. What I do not remember seeing is if you were getting temps from within the substrate with a probe or if you were using a stick-on type of thermometer and reading air temps. How warm was it in the hides? The second possibilty I could think of was whether or not they were exposed to some type of toxin: How do you clean the viv?

[Jrgh17]

I'm sorry about your snake. :(

Besides doing a postmordem, I have a few ideas: It might be a good idea to scrub down all of your supplies (water bowl, viv, any decor) with a bleach solution. You should also maybe consider getting rid of the rest of your substrate and getting a new bag. Anything else you can think of to avoid contamination might be a good idea. If I were you, and I was planning on getting another snake, I'd also set up the Viv well in advance, and then start a thread with pics and as much information as possible. That way, more experienced members can comment on your setup and let you know about any weak points.

Again, I'm really sorry about your snake, and hope the hobby isn't tainted for you because of these bad experiences.