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I am severly distraught.

A

Alias47

Derek Schneider
Found my little ghost almost dead last night...and had to put her out of her misery...
She was GORGEOUS...her pattern was like nothing I had ever seen on a cornsnake...had ruby eyes...with a blue sclera...absolutely beautiful...

I couldn't WAIT to breed her in a few years...

She was one of the smallest corn hatchlings I received this year...I got her in January...she ate once...then regurged the next time...then ate twice...then regurged AGAIN...I fed her a pinky head three weeks ago...and she kept it down...I fed her a small pink sliced up pretty good two weeks ago and she kept it down...I fed her a pink head and front shoulders last week...and she kept IT down as well...and it appears digested it...I held her two days ago and she seemed fine and strong...checked on the "kids" last night...and I thought she was dead ar first...but her eyes weren't glazed...then I noticed her "breathing" barely. She was completely limp...wouldn't right herself when upside down...had NO movement...other than when I layed her down she kind of "settled" into place...and it wasn't just gravity. Only thing I can think of is maybe a bone from the last meal pierced her internals...or kidney failure. She is VERY small still....11" and about as big around at the neck as a pretzel stick...maybe smaller...(not a pretzel ROD...a stick, the little ones)...she has never shed for me...so I have to assume she was not getting the nutrition she needed from the few meals she was able to hold down...
I have been in a severely foul mood ever since...
I had big plans for her...


See the sweet saddle pattern...makes me want to cry (not that it would be any easier regardless of WHAT she looked like)

Believe me I drilled myself over and OVER last night regarding husbandry methods...they are all good...
Losing one really makes you question your knowledge and abilities...
And fortitude...
Hard thing to deal with...
 
I am so sorry.

If it makes you feel any better about your husbandry skills, I think this one was not meant for this world, no matter what you had done for it. We always hope that our babies will be strong and live good, healthy lives, but in reality a certain number of them simply aren't going to thrive. We've been through the exact same thing earlier this year. We've lost two babies from non-feeding. I would imagine there was something else going on, not infection or impaction or poor care on your part, but something in her make-up that prevented her from surviving. It's a mystery and it hurts every time.
 
It is killing me...

I was SO excited that she ate three weeks in a row...
I thought she was back on track for SURE.
Definitely didn't expect this...

I mean she went through quarantine...I keep her in a rack...with 7 other 2004 corns...and 2 2004 bps on top...
Her temps are great...all the others are thriving...although two of them are smaller than the rest...NONE are as small as she was...and the rest are eating...and doing great...so I can't believe there is something I was missing in my husbandry...althought it still makes me question my ability...just bringing me down...and making me disillutioned.

I'll get over it...
 
If she was as small as you say, I can't believe she was going to survive. She came into your life for a reason, maybe the difficult lesson that you can't save them all. I'm kinda surprised the breeder would have sent you a snake that small, probably with known feeding issues. Did you know she was that small before you got her?
 
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She came to me in a group purchase...

I have actually gotten other hatchlings this small before (come to think of it...the only non-feeder I lost this year came to me this small).

She ate...off tongs even...just had issues...
Figure she must not have had enough nutrition to develop...

She was eating when she came to me...at least that is the claim...and I have no reason to dispute it...I don't know how many TIMES she ate...but she was eating...she ate for me after I got her...
Just began to regurge and never recovered.
 
You know as well as any breeder that some babies just can't be saved, no matter what you do.

I'm really sorry to hear this, Derek... she really was beautiful.
 
I know...

If I had expected it, it might not be so bad...

But she appeared to be recovering...and NICELY.
Just to find her almost dead last night.

Just a shock...
And a real bummer.
 
Such a hard thing to take, especially when you think they are on the road to recovery.

She was a beautiful little ghost. My sympathies on her loss.
 
This is a huge fear of mine. My snake went 3-4 weeks without eating and was looking just SICK (I had changed his bedding to aspen and he was going through a shed). I remember a couple times I looked in and his skin was just DRY and almost cracked looking, and his eyes looked just wrong... sunken, and like he was staring off into space.

I know that snakes can appear perfectly healthy (strong, alert, etc) right up to the brink... Aside from being small, do you know what was causing the regurges?
 
Sorry for the loss Derek...It is just a real shame when you think the little one was on the road to recovery.
 
Sound like that snake just wasn't ment to survive. I think if it had gone to someone less experienced it would have died earlier.

I am so sorry for your loss, and yes she was a really good looking ghost.
 
Sorry for your loss Derek, she was a pretty one. :(

Some of them just do that. I lost a gorgeous (and tiny) bloodred a couple years ago that always ate but didn't thrive.

It seems like some do not have the ability to properly digest their food or properly absorb the right nutrients. It could be that their gut is not capable of supporting the kind of fauna needed for proper digestion, or maybe a genetic defect causing them to lack some important enzyme. Could be anything under the sun, really. :shrugs:

We have a couple here that are nearly 2 years old and still hatchling size. They eat all the time but simply don't grow. If we push their meal size even a little, they regurge and I swear they ungrow! Nutri-bac seems to help somewhat with keeping their food down at least long enough that it comes out the right end, but they're still TINY.

Some are just not meant for this world and you can't always change that, even with perfect husbandry and TLC.
 
oh wow derek, i am so sorry for your loss
she sure was a pretty one.
my thoughts go out to you for this tough time
:(
 
I'm so sorry Derek, this has really been a rough past few months for you. Hopefully things will get better, and it really sounds like she just wasn't meant to make it. I'm sorry.:(
 
Don't beat yourself up over this Alias, Like Oldhand said, I am sure she lasted longer with you than she would have with anyone else less experienced. Some things are just not meant to be. She was a little beauty.
Keep smiling.
 
This has got to be any snake owners nightmare, a favorite snake passing on due to causes unknown. My prayers go out to you. I don't care what anyone says. Snakes need love too and they are cherished pets as well.
 
She was beautiful

I am so sorry for your loss, especially when she seemed to be doing better. My heart goes out to you.
 
I'm sorry to hear about the Ruby-Eyed Ghost, Alias. I just lost mine yesterday. Mine too was an unusually small hatchling and had issues with regurging. She'd off and on regurged for 2 months. She fed without a regurge for 3 straight weeks, then the past 2 weeks she'd refused one and regurged the other. Her sibling though is thriving, he is not Ruby-Eyed, but I hope carries the gene.
 
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