# Corn Snake died, why?



## willywonka (Jan 27, 2008)

Just found my corn snake dead.  Was doing all the correct husbandry and feeding it prekilled mice in a seperate container.  At best guess he was only a few years old, 5 at the most.  When I pulled him out of his cage he was bleeding from his mouth.  Any ideas on what may have gone wrong? :?


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## Mushroom Spore (Jan 28, 2008)

It's hard to do an autopsy over the internet.  Bleeding from the mouth is weird, but it could be any number of things we have no way of knowing about. If it really bothers you you could find a vet willing to do autopsy?


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## willywonka (Jan 28, 2008)

Mushroom Spore said:


> It's hard to do an autopsy over the internet.  Bleeding from the mouth is weird, but it could be any number of things we have no way of knowing about. If it really bothers you you could find a vet willing to do autopsy?


Good idea but probably expensive.  Just hoping that someone here might have an idea.


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## halfwaynowhere (Jan 28, 2008)

mouth rot is all i can think of, although I'd assume you would have noticed that before it got to that point. If you were doing everything right, then it wasn't your fault. sometimes these things just happen.


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## ParabuthusKing (Jan 28, 2008)

I would guess that he had some type of internal bleeding and this was cause of death.. do you feed live prey? as I actually had one of my boas swallow prey alive and this can be DEADLY!! lucky for him ( and me.. the proud parent) he was just a wee babe himself and was only eating a pinky mouse so it did him no harm.. if you can provide more details this will help to determine cause of death.. sorry for your loss, and strangely my coworker had a young corn snake that died mysteriously too..


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## Mushroom Spore (Jan 28, 2008)

ParabuthusKing said:


> and strangely my coworker had a young corn snake that died mysteriously too..


I wouldn't call it a conspiracy just yet. Pets die all the time, and unless examined/autopsied by a vet, especially if the owner is not extremely familiar with the ailments of their pet's species...it's gonna be a "mysterious" death.

Also in his very first post he said he fed pre-killed mice.


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## ParabuthusKing (Jan 28, 2008)

Mushroom Spore said:


> Also in his very first post he said he fed pre-killed mice.


My bad.. normally I am good about thorough reading of posts, I don't think it was a conspiracy.. thanks, that made me laugh..haha, but I just found it strange to have two "mysterious deaths" of snakes of the same species... in my experience most snakes are pretty hardy, but then again I have been interested in/ keeping reptiles for close to 20 years so I may have acquired a little more husbandry experience , but my condolonces for your lost pet.. I know it sucks


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## DITB (Jan 28, 2008)

only thing i can think of is mouthrot....or maybe somehow cage decor fell on him?


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## xchondrox (Jan 29, 2008)

Sounds of a gastrointestinal nature to me, caused by parasites perhaps. If you really want to know I'd freeze him and send him to a vet. or Universty's Herp department, a fecal would probably tell you afew things. 

Mouth rot is usually a secondary infection and would've been pretty noticable if the case was far along enough to result in death.

What did his fecal material look like? Ever regurg?
Where in the mouth was the blood coming from? The Gums, Trachea(little tube on the bottom of mouth) or from the back of the throat? 
Was it alot or alittle? 
pinkish blood or dark red? 
How long did you have him? 
Eating regularly?


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## willywonka (Jan 29, 2008)

xchondrox said:


> Sounds of a gastrointestinal nature to me, caused by parasites perhaps. If you really want to know I'd freeze him and send him to a vet. or Universty's Herp department, a fecal would probably tell you afew things.?


Not to imply that he is a "throw away pet" but that is more than I want to spend.  I was hoping for some insight from the knowledgeble people here.  Perhaps someone here has experienced the same situation as me.



xchondrox said:


> Mouth rot is usually a secondary infection and would've been pretty noticable if the case was far along enough to result in death.
> 
> What did his fecal material look like?


  It looked pretty normal to me.  


xchondrox said:


> Ever regurg?


  No.



xchondrox said:


> Where in the mouth was the blood coming from? The Gums, Trachea(little tube on the bottom of mouth) or from the back of the throat?
> Was it alot or alittle?


 It was just a few drops when I picked him up.


xchondrox said:


> pinkish blood or dark red?


 Pinkish in color.


xchondrox said:


> How long did you have him?


 Almost 2 years but I knew the people that had him before and they took good care of him too.


xchondrox said:


> Eating regularly?


 yes


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## Leigh (Feb 13, 2008)

the only other cases that i have heard of like this was when a shipment of forzen food defrosted in transit, the company re-froze all of the food and carried on selling this

with the food defrosting and then freezing again this caused a huge bacterial build up within all food items.

alot of peole from the area including myself lost a hell of a lot of stock, they fed, regurged and then died, with signs of blood from the mouth.

but as your feeding live animals then this doesnt really fit either. it doesnt sound like mouth rot... iv never known bleeding with mouth rot unless it has been a really really serious case... more cauliflower looking ^^

was there anything different that happened in the area such as a disinfectant that was used in the cage or around where the animal was? this is the only other thing that i have heard of where blood has been noted coming from the mouth, the other one was when the snake had tried to escape and the lid of the vivaria fell back down on his head


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## Mushroom Spore (Feb 13, 2008)

Leigh said:


> but as your feeding live animals then this doesnt really fit either.


Re-read the first post, he was feeding prekilled. The refrozen food possibility is a pretty good one, all things considered. I'm so glad I can trust my bulk-order rat dealer, they put everything straight into the box of dry ice and insulation they send you.


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## naturejoe (Feb 14, 2008)

*Fyi*

An autopsy on an animal is a necropsy.


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## Mushroom Spore (Feb 14, 2008)

naturejoe said:


> An autopsy on an animal is a necropsy.


Not always, according to the internet. :? 



> The term "autopsy" derives from the Greek for "to see for oneself". "Necropsy" is from the Greek for "seeing a dead body".





> An autopsy, also known as a post-mortem examination, necropsy, or obduction, is a medical procedure that consists of a thorough examination of a corpse to determine the cause and manner of death


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Necropsy


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## arrowhd (Feb 17, 2008)

> Corn Snake died, why?


I doubt you will ever know.  Sounds like you were doing everything right.  It does suck.


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## Rich65 (Feb 17, 2008)

Was doing all the correct husbandry and feeding it prekilled mice in a seperate container.  

What kind of substrate??? some are toxic!!

sounds a little like a respiritory infection, (pinkish blood)

What temps were used??


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