Palmetto death

As I'm sure anyone can imagine, a palmetto is still a pretty expensive investment. But even beyond that, I really loved my little boy. I purchased from Travis Whisler, the snake seemed very healthy and alert when he arrived, and he accepted his first feeding. I thought everything would be fine.

However, the following day, I found the pinkie had been regurgitated. So of course I got very worried, and contacted Travis to see if maybe the snake was used to eating live vs. frozen/thawed. We went over tank temperatures and conditions, etc. and neither of us could figure out why it had happened. He told me to try feeding him in the tank next time, with no handling until he was eating regularly again.

Less than a week later, today I noticed him in his tank with his head upside down and not moving. When I took him out, he was completely limp, and non-responsive, with his neck area already starting to stiffen up.

This is the second baby I've had who has died. I do have another corn snake who is completely fine, he eats regularly, has never regurgitated, and I've had him for several months with zero issues. Both tank setups are entirely the same, but the only thing I lacked from the first baby I lost was a temp monitor/regulator. So I got one right away, set it all up, so that on the warm end it is consistently kept at around 86F.

I had that all set up before I received my palmetto. I've double checked several different care sheets to see if there's something I missed, if I did something wrong, and the only thing I've found is that I didn't wait exactly 10 days before handling/feeding. It was more like 7 days. But surely a difference of 3 days wouldn't lead to this??

I've only had the palmetto for about 2 weeks. I'm heartbroken, since this was my dream snake, and lord knows he cost quite a bundle, so that's a lot of money lost as well. I'm just struggling to sort out what in the world I'm doing wrong, especially when my other snake is perfectly healthy in the exact same conditions.

I'll post a picture, in case anyone might be able to recognize something that might be wrong. His tail definitely looks as if he's dehydrated, or potentially starved, but that makes no sense because I always keep fresh water available, and when I tried to feed him he threw the pinkie up, but was feeding fine for the breeder before I got him.

In my opinion, it would take a pretty substantial error on your part to kill a corn snake in just two weeks. And I would think that you would be making that same mistake with ALL of your animals, killing them as well.

Did the snake exhibit any odd behavior while you had him? Spending a lot of time in the water bowl, or constantly prowling the cage like he wanted out?

Have you checked with the seller to see what sort of guarantee is offered against this sort of eventuality? I would think most reputable sellers would stand behind what they are selling for a reasonable period of time. Especially ones willing to spend relatively higher dollar amounts for what they want.

Oh, btw, if you want to take him to a vet for a necropsy on Monday, keep him in the refrigerator and don't freeze him. In your shoes I would strongly consider doing that.

Originally Posted by Rich Z

In my opinion, it would take a pretty substantial error on your part to kill a corn snake in just two weeks. And I would think that you would be making that same mistake with ALL of your animals, killing them as well.

Did the snake exhibit any odd behavior while you had him? Spending a lot of time in the water bowl, or constantly prowling the cage like he wanted out?

Have you checked with the seller to see what sort of guarantee is offered against this sort of eventuality? I would think most reputable sellers would stand behind what they are selling for a reasonable period of time. Especially ones willing to spend relatively higher dollar amounts for what they want.

He did prowl a bit, but mostly spent a lot of time in his warm hide, and I never saw him drink. After showing the picture to the breeder, he agreed the snake looked dehydrated. I'm just confused because, as I said, there was always water available, and I change the water out regularly.

I'll ask him if he has any health guarantee, or 30 day deal, in case I can possibly receive a replacement.

I'll be sure to see about a necropsy, because I am honestly baffled, because my other snake is perfectly fine with the exact same conditions.

BTW, you DID quarantine that new animal from your other(s), didn't you?

No offense to the seller, but ALL new animals should be quarantined, no matter who you get them from.

Originally Posted by Rich Z

BTW, you DID quarantine that new animal from your other(s), didn't you?

No offense to the seller, but ALL new animals should be quarantined, no matter who you get them from.

This corn never had any contact with any other animals. I don't house my snakes together.

Just looking at the picture above, That snake looks terribly Malnourished to me. It's way too skinny, the skin is wrinkly, you can plainly see its spine, all the things that most people say you should not be able to see. My guess is the snake starved to death, but you won't know anything for sure unless you have it looked at by a professional.

Originally Posted by Karl_Mcknight

Just looking at the picture above, That snake looks terribly Malnourished to me. It's way too skinny, the skin is wrinkly, you can plainly see its spine, all the things that most people say you should not be able to see. My guess is the snake starved to death, but you won't know anything for sure unless you have it looked at by a professional.

I would agree, considering he regurgitated the first pinkie I fed him, and refused to eat the other that was offered to him. I only had him about 2 weeks, and so made 2 feeding attempts.

just to clear a few things up I'd like to elaborate on this unfortunate event. This animal has been in my care from the day it was born. I sold this animal in August and held onto the animal until last month when I shipped it to it's new home. This animal has probably eaten over 40 times since it was born. We feed smaller meals more frequently and this snake was fed every 5 days. It's very puzzling to everyone involved as to why something like this would happen to an animal that appeared to be perfectly healthy. I've sold quite a few Palmettos all around the world and can count on one hand how many issues I've had, two of which were hatchlings that were shipped overseas and appeared to be very dehydrated after transportation. Things like this just don't happen. With that being said, I do guarantee live arrival and all animals to be healthy at delivery. I plan to replace this animal with hopes that this isn't a husbandry issue and just a fluke thing. I don't plan to comment any more on this thread because I don't spend much time on the forums and will undoubtedly not see the comments. Any questions regarding this matter I'd be happy to answer via email at twreptiles@aol.com.

Thanks,
Travis Whisler

you'll never convince me that snake ate "over 40 times." You can look at it and tell it's grossly underfed.