Reptile & Amphibian Forums

...well, what a crappy...no, [bleep]ty, thanksgiving for me.
My first Rainbow, and the first Reptile that I've "owned" in a lot of years just died.
I took all of the advice on husbandry that you all have given me to heart...thank you Dave, Jeff, etc.
I had temps correct, humidity, hides, big water-bowl, etc.
but, either I did something wrong, or he was doomed (parasites, etc) from the start, he's gone, and I am beyond devastated.
He was the pick of the litter from one of susquehanna ectotherms litters, I was on a waiting list for months, paid a lot for him, etc. etc.

and tomorrow, I'll bury him, it sucks, because even though I didn't have him for long, I loved him.

...and, selfishly, now that I talked my significant other into having a snake, bought all of the housing, supplies, etc, I have to wait until next year to get another "spectacular" baby.

Anyway...sorry for being emotional and rambling, thanks for everything...

Michael

It's perfectly natural to be emotional about it - losing a pet is not easy. It's amazing how quickly you grow attached to them, and it hurts a lot when they're gone.

Your situation sounds a lot like the experience I had with my first leopard gecko. Poor little guy was with me for 9 months, but eventually succumbed to parasites. We were never sure what the source of the parasites was, but even with his environmental conditions as perfect as we could make them and all the supportive care we could give, Harvey didn't make it. I almost refused to get another gecko about a year later, but my girlfriend wanted to very much, and I gave in. Thankfully, Tigger grew up big and strong and healthy. There's a picture of Harvey watching over the cages of the two geckos we have now, because it seemed a fitting memorial.

I still miss the little guy - he was so unique. We actually caught him playing shadow puppets with his tail once - he was literally using it to make a shadow move on the wall of his terrarium and playing with it. Also, he was kind of a pervert - lots of leopard geckos will attempt to climb up you, but he was of singular purpose - he really wanted to climb onto my girlfriend's breasts.

Those memories are always bittersweet, but they do make me smile. Hopefully you have some similar experiences to hold on to. In time, you'll remember the times he made you smile more than the hurt of losing him, though of course that never completely goes away.
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0.1 Albino Leopard Gecko - Tigger
0.1 Crested Gecko - Pooh-Bear

Well that just sucks, I'm sorry to hear it. Any chance of getting him in for a necropsy? Maybe they'll replace him if he came with some inherent issue.

I dont agree that you have to wait until next year to get a stunning baby. Dave and Jeff both have excellent animals and they're right here to help you if you run into trouble. If the breeder you bought your snake from isnt interested in replacing him, I'd suggest a snake from Dave or Jeff. I've got animals from both and they're some of the nicest in my collection.
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Julie
www.[url ban]/gfx

Hye Michael, so sorry to hear that. Sometimes there's just nothing you can do. All you can do from here is go forward.
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Thanks,

Dave Colling

www.rainbows-r-us-reptiles.com

0.1 Wife (WC and still very fiesty)
0.2 kids (CBB, a big part of our selective breeding program)

LOL, to many snakes to list, last count:
26.49 BRB
20.21 BCI
And those are only the breeders

lots.lots.lots feeder mice and rats

wow sorry to hear that

So sorry to hear. I had my first BRB die too. It took me a significant amount of time to get over it before I got another one. I would try to get a necropsy done.
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7.22 BRB
10.20 BCI
1.1 Mandarin Rat Snakes
0.1 Kenyan Sand Boa
0.2 Corn Snakes
2.8 Leopard Geckos

Thanks for the kind words all.