Sad Day

Psycho

Arachnobaron
Old Timer
Joined
Jun 28, 2003
Messages
386
OK im not in the best mood but I guess Ill live....My baby ball Python just died before I could get ahold of a Vet..I baught the ball from Paul at Exopets and I am happy with Pauls business but it kinda makes me wonder, Paul you ordered 2 balls, you kept one and I got one...yours died not too long after you got yours and now mine died, do you know what wouldve caused that? anyways now is the time to start lookin for another I think I might have found one but its pricey for a Ball (79.00) So now all I gotta say is....R.I.P Damian :(


~~~Psycho~~~
 

phoenixxavierre

Arachnoprince
Old Timer
Joined
Oct 9, 2002
Messages
1,293
Originally posted by Psycho
OK im not in the best mood but I guess Ill live....My baby ball Python just died before I could get ahold of a Vet..I baught the ball from Paul at Exopets and I am happy with Pauls business but it kinda makes me wonder, Paul you ordered 2 balls, you kept one and I got one...yours died not too long after you got yours and now mine died, do you know what wouldve caused that? anyways now is the time to start lookin for another I think I might have found one but its pricey for a Ball (79.00) So now all I gotta say is....R.I.P Damian :(


~~~Psycho~~~
First off, how were you keeping the python? feeding? enclosure? etc.?

The ball python that died that I had appeared to have been injured previously. There was a healed cut on it's ventral side stretching from the middle part of the body to the end of the tail. I believe that before it reached me it must have tried to squeeze out of cage with a screen top, as that is what the injury appeared to have resulted from though I'm unsure. I also believe her rear section had been paralysed as she was unable to control the movement in the latter 16th or so of her tail. I believe this caused her problems digesting her food. What I believe resulted in the death of mine was undigested food in the gut.

I'm very sorry to hear about the death of your ball python. Did you notice anything odd about the python previous to it's death?

Paul
 

Psycho

Arachnobaron
Old Timer
Joined
Jun 28, 2003
Messages
386
Paul....

to begin with this is what I had my Ball Python in...

10 Gallon Tarranium
Lizard Litter (I talked to a reptile vet and he gave this stuff a big thumbs up)
Water Dish
Day Glow bulb with heat lamp
Climbing stick for basking
an upside down bowl with a hole cut out for a hide box
he only ate once when I had him since he was ready to shed but he ate 1 rat pup
temp was 86
night temp was 80 and it stays moderatly humid in the reptile room

Symptoms before death:
couldnt hold his head up and when it did it seemed like he didnt have no strength to keep it up
real sluggish
and it didnt seem too active when I picked it up (mind you it died right in my hands..poor fella:8o)

~~~Psycho~~~
 

scorpio

Arachnodemon
Old Timer
Joined
Aug 3, 2003
Messages
694
That sounds a whole lot like the calcium deficiency my baby rat had a while back. He was like a limp dead snake making slight movements once in a while the day before he died.

My best guess is your python had some sort of nutritional deficiency.
 

phoenixxavierre

Arachnoprince
Old Timer
Joined
Oct 9, 2002
Messages
1,293
I myself tend to shy away from any type of granular litter for the keeping of herps. I either go with newspaper or peat mixed with soil. Sand or granular type substrates can cause intestinal blockage if they swallow too much of it. Small amounts aren't bad but pure this or pure that can be bad. It can also get under the scales and cause problems. Temps are best kept between 73F at night to 84F during the day. A heat lamp can dry the snake out if there is no humidity in the air. Humidity is way more important to this species, IMO and IME, than what most care sheets lead one to believe. They do need air flow as well as higher humidity levels, 75% during the day to 95% during the evening. This snake is nocturnal, hiding in a burrow during the day, and coming out to hunt in the humid, cooler evening. They dislike bright light. This species normally has a good appetite but can go a week between feedings. I've had ball pythons that went off feed for six months before. At this age, though, and at that size, it should have been scarfing the food down!

Did you notice anything unusual other than the symptoms you describe? Anything physically wrong? He was healthy when I shipped him so I'm baffled. He was eating good, drinking good, had no signs of illness whatsoever, no weakness, nothing obviously wrong. If he had, I would never have shipped him to you. Was the oncoming shed apparent? How long did he go on just one rat pup? How long between his last feeding and his death?

I know how you feel though. I had an adult male ball python, wild caught, die due to refusal of food just recently, poor guy. Starved himself. Wouldn't take anything. Obviously, he had his mind made up that he wanted a particular type of food that I didn't provide. Perhaps lizards or frogs.

Paul
 

Psycho

Arachnobaron
Old Timer
Joined
Jun 28, 2003
Messages
386
Ok this is what I do now for the time being...I keep my new Ball Python on newspaper and my Burmese on Lizard Litter (and no im not gettin rid of my Burmese, I have huge plans for him;P

the heat lamp is on aproximatly 6 hours a day I mist 2x a day and like i said the reptile room is moderatly humid since there is alot of water in the room

I did not notice nothing physically wrong with the Ball, but I did help him a little bit with the shed, I do remember something I read the baby Balls do sometimes have a tendancy to have a couple hard sheds in the beginning (and I know humidity is not a problem cause my new Ball shed just fine)

Well I fed him like a week after I got him and Id say from to live to dead he went maybe 2 weeks without eating..

Well just to say my new snakes are doing perfect, they ate real good last night with no problem but my new Ball bit me due to my stupidity. I put a post about that...I look bck at last night and say "Duuuhhhhh Rob you were pretty stupid huuh"....lol

~~~Psycho~~~
 
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