Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I have watched all of my het pieds, a het ghost, and a normal all die in a year of their lives being started. No signs of ibd at all. Kept the same as all the other ball pythons we have. We have balls from multiple breeders, and this one particular group came from one in particular. I am not happy in the least. I am rather depressed because this has happened. I feel like I have wasted my time and money on substandard animals. Personally I think there are too many breeders out there trying to make a buck. Hell...All I wanted to do was make a couple of morphs for my wife and I to enjoy and then sell the breeders off. It was a cheaper way to go about getting what you want for your self (at least that's what I thought). Am I interested in breeding snakes? Yes and no. I don't want a business. I would like some nice animals to enjoy. I guess that's not to be unless I save my coin and then purchase what I wanted to begin with. Yet I would be running the risk of getting substandard animals again. It would have been nice to breed my own though and then hand pick the best out of the litter and keep those one or two for our own enjoyment. I guess it's just not to be. Sorry this rant was so long.
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1.0 red phase western hognose
1.0 100% het albino columbian
1.0 pastel columbian
0.1 hypo columbian
0.1 guyana
1.2 jcp
1.0 irian jaya
1.2 normal balls
1.0 ghost ball
0.1 pastel ball
1.0 granite al burm
0.1 granite het al burm
0.1 albino burm
0.0.1 sulcata tortoise
1.0 pug (Frank)
1.1 pit bull terriers (Marlboro & Coco)
1.0 house cat (Kitty)
0.1 wife who puts up with me

Start the investigation to the problems within....

are you the cause?...temp,cage, bedding ? etc etc...

....did they eat when you got them?.....babies?....

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........JY

If you had them for a year you must have noticed something prior to them passing away. Do you watch your animals for signs of sickness, any skin problems, neurological conditions or anorexia? Any open mouth breathing or mucus, leaning the head and neck up side of cage? Any similarities in the deaths...how many have died? A snake does not just act normal for 12 months and then die. There are always some signs there for us to see that something is wrong.....or at least, see that things are not quite right with that animal. It's our responsibility as keepers to know the signs.

Thanks for your concerns regarding this matter. However upon reading the responses, I feel as though no one really read the rant and really got it completely before jumping to the keyboard to make a response. As I said earlier...No signs of IBD. There were no signs of sickness of any sort for that matter. They were kept in the same manner as the other ball pythons that we have. They ate, shed, drank and pooped fine. I have no doubts that their quality of care was fine. They did not move around in distress. They acted as a snake should normally act. My rant was that this one batch of snakes came from one place in particular, and I have had more problems than normal. One day they are fine, and the next one of the would be found dead. It went that way for two pairs of het pieds, a het ghost, and a normal. Over the course of one year from the start of their lives. Like I said...I feel that there are too many breeders out to make a buck these days. I think I am done with balls for a while. That was basically all I was saying. If you got your hackles up over my response, well, I guess you rubbed me the wrong way by not paying closer attention. Sorry.
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1.0 red phase western hognose
1.0 100% het albino columbian
1.0 pastel columbian
0.1 hypo columbian
0.1 guyana
1.2 jcp
1.0 irian jaya
1.2 normal balls
1.0 ghost ball
0.1 pastel ball
1.0 granite al burm
0.1 granite het al burm
0.1 albino burm
0.0.1 sulcata tortoise
1.0 pug (Frank)
1.1 pit bull terriers (Marlboro & Coco)
1.0 house cat (Kitty)
0.1 wife who puts up with me

The reason people were asking about if there were any signs of trouble is that it is very strange o have snakes just die, it does happen but rarely without some sign of trouble. Did you ever see a vet? They could do a necropsy to see what happened. Do you have any more snakes left from this one particular breeder? Again, the only reason people responded asking more questions is that it is such an unusual occurrence. Everyone would like for you to get to the bottom of this, for your sake as well as our own. Good luck with your other snakes.

The nearest herp specialist vet is near New Orleans which is about about five and half to six and a half hours from our house. So there were no vet trips. It's a private collection, so no one else is being effected by this problem. I have one snake left out of this bunch, and he is being watched very carefully. Like the others, there are no signs of a problem. If it were something that is transmitable, then why have I not lost any of the other snakes in my collection that were being housed near them after their quarantine period was up? We have boas in our collection, and they are in perfect shape. It all relates to this one group of yearlings. That's why it pisses me off so badly.
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1.0 red phase western hognose
1.0 100% het albino columbian
1.0 pastel columbian
0.1 hypo columbian
0.1 guyana
1.2 jcp
1.0 irian jaya
1.2 normal balls
1.0 ghost ball
0.1 pastel ball
1.0 granite al burm
0.1 granite het al burm
0.1 albino burm
0.0.1 sulcata tortoise
1.0 pug (Frank)
1.1 pit bull terriers (Marlboro & Coco)
1.0 house cat (Kitty)
0.1 wife who puts up with me

I got a thought....I know of a couple breeders that have troubles ....so I heard........maybe......hmmmmm....(unknown cause also)...

.....anyways.......have fun ...good luck....

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........JY

Yeah, I wasn't rubbing you the wrong way, just trying to help you uncover a clue. Have you contacted the person who sold you these animals to tell him/her this has happened? I know you won't get much of a response but I think you should at least let them know you have mysteriously lost a majority of the animals obtained from them.