Two dead in three days

[Khaman]

I just found two of my yearlings dead what ever killed them killed both of them QUICK! Both look like they melted I looked at my snow and thought it was a hypo he had turned that red then when I looked in on the hypo it was dead as well. It looks like there is no muscle tissue at all just the bones I looked in on them on Saturday and changed the water and they were fine. any ideas?

[jim]

sorry to hear about them. were there any noticeable feeding problems? any signs at all? ---jim

[LizS]

How about temperature, would the snakes have died of overheating and their bodies dried out by the time you found them? I'm wondering whether the heating pad/tape may have malfunctioned.

[Khaman]

they were problem feeders one took a week to digest a pink and the other would regurge every other time. My vet is a idiot when it comes to snakes( though I have to admit she knows what to do with the lions) She just told me that I was not keeping the temps high enough for them to digest my Thermostat is set to 82 for four days after feeding and 78 on others I put the probe in the snow's cage so I knew what temp it was in his for sure. Any one know a good herp vet in Ky?

[Kevin M]

They both looked melted?

Im sure Im reaching here but I might as well ask.

You have these yearlings housed as a group or seperatly? I only ask because if they were housed as a group it might very well be cannabalism. A regurged cannabalized snaked has a very melted look to it. Though the chance of it happening to 2 of your yearlings in a 4 day span is thin to say the least.

[Iris]

Hm..Do you have any pictures? It would probably be really gross...but it could help everyone get a better idea of what happened.
You've probably gotten rid of the bodies or carcasses or watever by now but if you haven't..
And this is kind of off topic but what IS the proper way to dispose of animals? I used to bury my dead birds in the back yard but usually other animals dug them up and ate them I think. Well anyway...Didn't mean to get off topic there but I was wondering.

[Rachel]

Iris,
Im not sure if its the same for where you live but over here you can send your dead animals to an incinerator. They can give you back the ashes if you want or simply "dispose" of them. Saying that the clinic I work at usually chucks small animals out with the biohazard bag. (oops probably shouldnt have told you guys that!)
As for your dead snakes (sorry to hear about that Khaman :( ) I would have guessed it as being a heating device malfunction but seeing as I cant carry out a post mortem Im only guessing!!
Hope you find out soon!

[monna62]

Sorry to hear that, it is hard to lose pets. I am new to snake keeping, but I will read to see if anyone finds out what happened. Can you have your heating element checked by a electrian? Take Care