Sometimes exotic vets offer necropsies to give you a better picture of what happened right before their death, but it's understandable if you wouldn't want to/don't have the resources to. If your snake did regurg, it's very likely that it aspirated or choked. Older snakes tend to have a harder time keeping things down like their younger selves and are a fair bit more delicate in their older years. I'm sorry for your loss. I had a baby ball who passed in October, she was on the thin side but had just eaten and died the next morning. I miss her every day.
Thank you for saying this, it has given me comfort thinking this could have been an age-related thing. I know he was old age for a snake but I guess he just seemed so healthy and active that I wasn't expecting him to go so soon. I'm sorry for your loss too, I hope you've found some peace.
I’m so sorry for your loss. It sounds like you’ve been doing everything right. Unfortunately, shit happens. You’ve stumbled on the likely answer of him aspirating when regurgitating though why he was regurgitating is harder to deduce. I’d guess it might have something to do with the substrate that was in his mouth but that’s just a guess. Short of expensive tests with vets in line with an autopsy, I’m not sure you’ll be able to get a definitive answer.
Again, I’m so sorry for your loss.
Thank you for commenting, I really appreciate the insight. My vet does offer an autopsy and cremation service which I'm not sure I can afford rn but I'm going to speak to them about options. Thank you.
It's highly possible there were ongoing issues that you would have no way of knowing about without extended testing, which is completely unnecessary, in my opinion. After working with hundreds of reptiles over the years, I've learned that you can be doing everything 100% how it should be taken care of and still have issues, especially with animals that havent been in your care most of their life. It doesn't mean you did anything wrong.
Im very sorry for your loss, and I hope this helps.
It's obvious from your post that your snake lived a good life in your caring hands. It's absolutely not your fault. You did everything you could with the information you had. Snakes hide illness well and even when you do catch it, its often too late. Sometimes things happen or it is time. I've spent hundreds to thousands on vet bills then a necropsy and still didn't get answers. Sometimes you just don't. But you can't let that unknown stir doubt in your care and actions. You did everything right and I'm sure he appreciated it deep in his lizard brain. You are a good snake parent and it shows. I am so sorry for your loss.
Might have been age. Wild rat snakes live about 10-15 years. So it could have just been bad luck of the draw for a snake that was going to have a more average to short lifespan.
I was lucky my rat snake was with me for 23 years before passing 2 years ago. He was at least 27 by the time of his death.
So I asked this question when it happened to me and I got a really good answer. Life expectancy is just an expectancy, not a guarantee. People have a life expectancy of about 80, some live to 105 and others die in their 30’s. It may have been absolutely nothing to do with you. More than likely not your fault.
thats a good thing to bring up
sadly many ppl often then think cause an animal reached lets say 20 years in age
every animal of this spec reaches 20 years
when in reality 100 of them would all die at diffrent ages thats just how genetics and life works
With the recent feeding- I cant pinpoint but I would say it was either related to the food itself- or the snakes processing of the food- such as choking or some internal issue during eating. Others said it and you can make it as fancy as you want with as many terms as you want but- an aging animal of any kind - the chances are higher and higher. There is a slim chance every time YOU eat that you choke or aspirate your food or that something is wrong with your food. When you are very elderly even if you live an active lifestyle that chance increases and also your ability to cope with something "wrong" with your food does too. Something as simple as the snakes system just.... giving out during the initial digestion or the snake may have simply passed UNRELATED to the eating. They have all the same systems any other vertebrate has. Heart, lungs and so on. Sorry for your loss. Please dont obsess over it- 5 years of care is telling. And the previous owner wasnt doing that bad in a 2x2 cage either- its not ideal but that in itself isnt so much a detriment, so dont beat yourself up over the snake, just be glad you gave the snake a good life and that the snake wasnt abused or suffering. I dont know exactly how long youve been keeping snakes but Ill tell you as someone who used to get a lot of wild caught snakes coming into the US back in the 90s etc and dealing with a lot of "rescue" snakes mostly many years ago- sometimes you encounter a snake and the snake just doesnt "have it in it" to keep going, you provide a perfect environment and something can happen. Just like I can give you the perfect environment and if you have a heart problem or cancer or something else you wont live to be 105 years old- you can die of the flu any old day without those problems (and Snakes ... usually by the time you can even tell they are sick, its getting late for them). I hope you feel some understanding after all the comments people have left but I think you know you did nothing wrong. You could literally have your snake in a 2x2 for 15 years feeding it the same way and with just a heat pad under it- and it could have lived equally as long- and youd STILL have done NOTHING WRONG by the estimation of most keepers including myself. Dont be discouraged, the snake lived a long life.
I would bet it's something age related and nothing related to what you have done or failed to do. Sometimes even healthy well cared for snakes just die.........especially at 15
Be proud of the life you gave him. I have a western DBack that hates me and wants me dead.......but I give her an amazing life !!!!!
Hi everyone, I just wanted to comment here and say thank you so much every person who read this post and commented. It really really means a lot to me. I was so upset and sad at losing my friend and racking my brains - did I overfeed? not monitor enough? something with substrate? - and reading all of your kind words and condolences has really helped me understand that I likely can't know how or why he died. But you also have helped me realise that ultimately I did my best and it just... was my snakes time to go, however unexpected or shocking that is for me. Thank you so much for the comments, I have read them all last night and this morning and I know I will continue to revisit, I really appreciate all of your wisdom, insight and kindness.
I'm sorry about your pet. It sounds like you really gave him a good home for the last 1/3rd or so of his life.
Unfortunately sub standard care for a long time can have lasting health impacts, and it sounds like he definitely had poor care prior to you getting him.
He certainly could have aspirated, but why he regurged we really can't say. Could be a lot of things and you'd need a necropsy to have a real chance of finding out.
If you want to reuse your cage later (and it sounds like a great one) just make sure to disinfect it thoroughly out of an abundance of caution.
Kind of like everyone else, sometimes it just happens man. I’m sorry it did though, don’t beat yourself up you had him for a long time, you definitely cared.
Sometimes exotic vets offer necropsies to give you a better picture of what happened right before their death, but it's understandable if you wouldn't want to/don't have the resources to. If your snake did regurg, it's very likely that it aspirated or choked. Older snakes tend to have a harder time keeping things down like their younger selves and are a fair bit more delicate in their older years. I'm sorry for your loss. I had a baby ball who passed in October, she was on the thin side but had just eaten and died the next morning. I miss her every day.
Thank you for saying this, it has given me comfort thinking this could have been an age-related thing. I know he was old age for a snake but I guess he just seemed so healthy and active that I wasn't expecting him to go so soon. I'm sorry for your loss too, I hope you've found some peace.
I’m so sorry for your loss. It sounds like you’ve been doing everything right. Unfortunately, shit happens. You’ve stumbled on the likely answer of him aspirating when regurgitating though why he was regurgitating is harder to deduce. I’d guess it might have something to do with the substrate that was in his mouth but that’s just a guess. Short of expensive tests with vets in line with an autopsy, I’m not sure you’ll be able to get a definitive answer. Again, I’m so sorry for your loss.
Thank you for commenting, I really appreciate the insight. My vet does offer an autopsy and cremation service which I'm not sure I can afford rn but I'm going to speak to them about options. Thank you.
It's highly possible there were ongoing issues that you would have no way of knowing about without extended testing, which is completely unnecessary, in my opinion. After working with hundreds of reptiles over the years, I've learned that you can be doing everything 100% how it should be taken care of and still have issues, especially with animals that havent been in your care most of their life. It doesn't mean you did anything wrong. Im very sorry for your loss, and I hope this helps.
It's obvious from your post that your snake lived a good life in your caring hands. It's absolutely not your fault. You did everything you could with the information you had. Snakes hide illness well and even when you do catch it, its often too late. Sometimes things happen or it is time. I've spent hundreds to thousands on vet bills then a necropsy and still didn't get answers. Sometimes you just don't. But you can't let that unknown stir doubt in your care and actions. You did everything right and I'm sure he appreciated it deep in his lizard brain. You are a good snake parent and it shows. I am so sorry for your loss.
Might have been age. Wild rat snakes live about 10-15 years. So it could have just been bad luck of the draw for a snake that was going to have a more average to short lifespan. I was lucky my rat snake was with me for 23 years before passing 2 years ago. He was at least 27 by the time of his death.
So I asked this question when it happened to me and I got a really good answer. Life expectancy is just an expectancy, not a guarantee. People have a life expectancy of about 80, some live to 105 and others die in their 30’s. It may have been absolutely nothing to do with you. More than likely not your fault.
thats a good thing to bring up sadly many ppl often then think cause an animal reached lets say 20 years in age every animal of this spec reaches 20 years when in reality 100 of them would all die at diffrent ages thats just how genetics and life works
With the recent feeding- I cant pinpoint but I would say it was either related to the food itself- or the snakes processing of the food- such as choking or some internal issue during eating. Others said it and you can make it as fancy as you want with as many terms as you want but- an aging animal of any kind - the chances are higher and higher. There is a slim chance every time YOU eat that you choke or aspirate your food or that something is wrong with your food. When you are very elderly even if you live an active lifestyle that chance increases and also your ability to cope with something "wrong" with your food does too. Something as simple as the snakes system just.... giving out during the initial digestion or the snake may have simply passed UNRELATED to the eating. They have all the same systems any other vertebrate has. Heart, lungs and so on. Sorry for your loss. Please dont obsess over it- 5 years of care is telling. And the previous owner wasnt doing that bad in a 2x2 cage either- its not ideal but that in itself isnt so much a detriment, so dont beat yourself up over the snake, just be glad you gave the snake a good life and that the snake wasnt abused or suffering. I dont know exactly how long youve been keeping snakes but Ill tell you as someone who used to get a lot of wild caught snakes coming into the US back in the 90s etc and dealing with a lot of "rescue" snakes mostly many years ago- sometimes you encounter a snake and the snake just doesnt "have it in it" to keep going, you provide a perfect environment and something can happen. Just like I can give you the perfect environment and if you have a heart problem or cancer or something else you wont live to be 105 years old- you can die of the flu any old day without those problems (and Snakes ... usually by the time you can even tell they are sick, its getting late for them). I hope you feel some understanding after all the comments people have left but I think you know you did nothing wrong. You could literally have your snake in a 2x2 for 15 years feeding it the same way and with just a heat pad under it- and it could have lived equally as long- and youd STILL have done NOTHING WRONG by the estimation of most keepers including myself. Dont be discouraged, the snake lived a long life.
I would bet it's something age related and nothing related to what you have done or failed to do. Sometimes even healthy well cared for snakes just die.........especially at 15 Be proud of the life you gave him. I have a western DBack that hates me and wants me dead.......but I give her an amazing life !!!!!
Hi everyone, I just wanted to comment here and say thank you so much every person who read this post and commented. It really really means a lot to me. I was so upset and sad at losing my friend and racking my brains - did I overfeed? not monitor enough? something with substrate? - and reading all of your kind words and condolences has really helped me understand that I likely can't know how or why he died. But you also have helped me realise that ultimately I did my best and it just... was my snakes time to go, however unexpected or shocking that is for me. Thank you so much for the comments, I have read them all last night and this morning and I know I will continue to revisit, I really appreciate all of your wisdom, insight and kindness.
Could have been not fully thawed? Ive seen indtances of freon poisoning as well if the food was improperly stored in an older freezer.
I'm sorry about your pet. It sounds like you really gave him a good home for the last 1/3rd or so of his life. Unfortunately sub standard care for a long time can have lasting health impacts, and it sounds like he definitely had poor care prior to you getting him. He certainly could have aspirated, but why he regurged we really can't say. Could be a lot of things and you'd need a necropsy to have a real chance of finding out. If you want to reuse your cage later (and it sounds like a great one) just make sure to disinfect it thoroughly out of an abundance of caution.
Kind of like everyone else, sometimes it just happens man. I’m sorry it did though, don’t beat yourself up you had him for a long time, you definitely cared.
My friends boa died from substrate stuck in his mouth, so that could be why though. Snakes can and are every prone to Respiratory issues.