First of all, let me say that you have my deepest sympathy! And if it will help, I have a little story for you.



When I was about 8 or 9 years old, after much debate with my father, he finaly agreed to allow me to aquire my very first Boa Constrictor. She was a beauty. She was a sweety too, like most boas. I absolutely loved that animal. I would have done anything to protect her from harm. Most of my family thought I was nuts, but they still do, so who cares.LOL Then one summer day, while I had her out, one of the neighbor kids said, "cmon over and play". So Like most 8 or 9 year olds, I ran to put away my snake, so I could go play. The cage was outside on the back walk way, half in the sun, and half in the shade. When I returned several hours later, I found her with her tail pinched in the door, laying in the sun, unable to get to the shady side of the cage, dead. I was absolutely mortified! I could not beleive she was dead. But what's worse is, the fact that my own carelessness was to blame. Can you imagine? To this day, I am extremely cautious when closing any cage!!!



I have been playing with snakes for about 40 years now, and I must tell you that I am as shocked as you are. I have never heard of anything like what happened to you. I guess his mate decided she'd had enough. We think we know all there is to know about our animals, and we think we have them all figured out. But no matter how well we know them, they will always find a way to shock and amaze us. We must always remember that no matter how well we "know" our animals, they do have minds of their own, and inspite of our knowledge of instincts and predictable animal behaviour, they are still capable of making their own choices about what they will do next. We can control everything in their environments, but we cannot control what they do,...and ultimately, what they do, or do not do, is up to them.



I hope I have been able to help in some way. Because beleive it or not, I do know how you feel. And I would not wish that on anyone! If nothing else, I hope it helps you to know that you are not alone, in that respect, and you can e-mail me direct if you like. Even if I cannot fix it, I will be willing to listen. So chin up, cheer up, and remember the good things about your lost freind. And try not to let it get you down, because, even though it's not something we like to think about,...there will be more. We always live longer than they do. Always. Good luck!

Tony.

thesnakeman@centurytel.net

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