Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Well, my female Apalachicola King shed, has fed, and appears to be over whatever was making her ill. I decided that I would put her back with the male, for one more chance at eggs... only to find that the male was dead. A huge loss, and I'm quite saddened by it. Especially since he was the only male I had. Next year I might try to get a male Apalachicola king for her to pair up with, since he was an obvious integrade and she appears to be "pure" Apalachicola. But in the meantime I'm saddened at the loss of my very favorite pet. He did like to latch on to my fingers thinking they were mice, and always had to be persuaded to let go. But he was so full of personality. When we got him we had a choice between him and another that was "het for blaze phase" or something like that. But we chose him because he was the more beautiful snake. I will really miss him.

On the brighter side, one of our Cal kings appears to be "in labor" or whatever it would be called when they are just moments, or perhaps hours, from laying their eggs. *sigh*

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~Sasheena

Oh, my, Sasheena. Whatever, on earth happened to him? I'm so sorry. I've only had one snake die in my keep and it was a non-feeding hatchling MBK. I tried everything including pinkie pump but to no avail. At least I was prepared for his demise. Losing your snake is even harder to deal with. This is a sad day for you, indeed.

I really don't know what happened to him. I had him with my female about 8 or 9 weeks ago, they bred like crazy, and from that point on he's lost his appetite. I wasn't surprised nor alarmed as he came out of brumation FAT. (Last year he was my "garbage can" snake who ate any mouse I gave him!). 8 or 9 weeks for a fit, fat, healthy male snake during breeding season did NOT seem like a long time, and I'm sure, on looking at him, that he was NOT starved. He was just curled up under his log like he was asleep. Perhaps he died of elevated cholesterol and all those nice fat mice? *sigh* I'm sure I'll never know. I've had a lot of bad luck with snakes, half my fault, half not. Hubby wanted some Ball Pythons, so we bought some WC Balls. Had to endure 5 out of 10 dying. (not to mention picking ticks off them, treating them, etc.) That was depressing. We also bought some Jurassic Milks... and sadly all but ONE of those died... though some of them were known non-feeders thrown in as a bonus. Sadly only one of the non-feeders made it, and none of the snakes that were actually supposed to be well started made it. And I lost an outer banks king that refused to eat. It's been a tough winter for this reason. I think the hardest part of this is that the snake that died this time is one who I really liked. He used to be in our bedroom and I would tap the top of his cage and he would always come up to the top to say hi. I only had him a year but he was always one of the most beautiful snakes in our collection.

The only plus is my cal king I've been keeping an eye on all day... she hasn't laid yet, but she's given every indication of popping out eggs at any moment. So I am trying to focus on the positives. I'll feed up my female Apalachicola, so on the off chance she has any retained sperm, she'll at least pass one fertile egg. I can only hope.
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~Sasheena

...having your animal tested: the female's been sick, and the male died. That suggests a bug of some kind, something contagious. And the fact that you had wild-caught ball pythons, ticks, etc., all contribute to a feeling that the more you can learn about the cause of the male's death, the better off you are. There's plenty a vet can show you to treat for, ranging from parasites to bacterial infections to...

you get the idea. did you ever have the "ill" female tested? was any cause identified? if not, and if you haven't pitched the male's carcass, i'd refrigerate (not freeze) it and get it to a vet in the morning for an autopsy/culture, see if you can ID something to knock out of your collection before it knocks out the collection.

terry

I couldn't have done much with the body of the snake that died. He'd been fed four days ago, watered, cage cleaned, and with so many gravid snakes to check on, I haven't been checking daily on the finiky boys. I hadn't checked him in three or four days, and it appears he died within hours of my last checking on him. He was... well... ripe when I finally discovered he was dead. Nothing to check. I might find out if I can get a fecal done on the female. The only contact he'd had was with her, and now he's gone. She's the only snake in our bedroom and is cut off from contact with the rest of the snakes. We were pretty good at keeping the balls quarantined from the rest of the snakes... but one did get out, as did the male who died... he was out for a couple of days, not at the same time. So perhaps he got something from some parasite the loose ball python left lying around, and gave it to the female. I'm keeping a close watch on her. It's very distressing!

Luckily she's always last on the list for any snake care... since she's in the bedroom. I'll be doubly cautious of course. I was planning on incubating the eggs in our bedroom too, but I guess I'll scrap that idea and incubate them in the kitchen on the kitchen cupboards or someplace else.

*sigh*
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~Sasheena

I'm so sorry to hear about your loss. My advice, not that you asked for it, would be to take a few days and be good to yourself...sounds like you've had a really crappy winter. I remember how it felt when a favorite corn snake died several years ago, and it was hard to deal with. One thing is certain: he left behind some awesome offspring...the one I have gets prettier by the week! Sounds like you have good plans for the female, and I look forward to seeing offspring from that pairing.

Thanks. The snakes that are getting ready to lay eggs are my present to myself. But she's going to be isolated from the rest of my collection until next spring. If she lays eggs, I'll consider it a miracle. If she doesn't, but is totally healthy, I'll consider next year to be a new realm of possibilities. I'm just glad I have understanding people to share my loss with. That way at least I feel I have the right level of sympathy.

In general though, in spite of this loss, I have to say that the last week has overall been one of the best in the last year. Hubby and I got three pieces of good news that eclipse the sad news. First we recovered a lost snake (it wasn't loose where the kingsnake and ball python were loose), then we found out we were getting a new principal at our high school that is one of the kindest and best people in the universe, and finally we found out that my husband's 13 year old daughter has chosen to come live with us, so I guess you could say "It's a Girl!" So we have some sad happenings, but overall we are very blessed.

And I'm VERY glad that your Blotched is doing great. That makes me SO happy to hear.
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~Sasheena

Awww Sasheena I'm so sorry *hugs*
And we were just talking about those 2 as well I hope she is gravid for you, and I hope that she continues to be healthy and whatever he died from was nothing contagious.
Keep us posted on your cali girl tho! eager to hear how she (and the rest of your girls) do for you.
Take care hun
~Roo
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"Klaatu...Verata...Nicht--cough, cough, cough!"