Well, I got home from my grandfathers funeral and i looked at my snake for a few mins and he looked fine and was moving around like normal but he was also kind of trying to roll over on one side.I watched this for a little while and then went to get in the shower. When i got out i was going to feed him but he was dead. So something happened and he died within an hour of me seeing him last. I was out of town for a few days so i was 2 days late on feeding him but i didnt think it would matter because i have heard stories of snakes going months without eating.The only other thing i could think of was that i changed the bark in the tank about 1 week ago. The snake was a Western Ribbon that was somewhere between 1 1/2 to 2 feet long, had a 10 gallon aquarium, was fed 1 pinkie every week,water was changed every week and he had a light that was on for 5-8 hours a day (temp was never higher than 85 degrees). Also i had fed him 6 rosies about 1 week before the death but the rosies were not a common food for him. I have had the snake about 4 months and i would really like to get to the bottom of this because this is the 2nd snake i have had die for no apparent reason (other was a Rough Green snake). I love snakes and i would like another but i dont want to get another one if they will just keep dying on me. Please let me know if i am doing anything wrong. P.S I only held him about 2 times a month (maybe he was lonely??)
Thanks for your help,
Aaron
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snake death
Replies (4)
Sorry to hear about your loss. 
There is nothing obviously wrong with your set up. And loneliness had nothing do do with it, IMHO, because snakes are about as nonsocial as they come. And rough green snakes are poor captives and often die fairly rapidly simply from stress.
The first thing that I would look for would be toxic chemicals in the environment. For example, Ly-Sol, Pine-Sol, and other phenol and pine oil cleaners are slow but sure killers. But whether some chemical is a factor is just a guess. A necropsy by a vet might turn up anything from respiratory disease to cancer.
Good luck.
Paul Hollander
Hi, did he have a low temp on one end of cage 70 degrees or so, or was whole cage 85........if so this could be the reason.......garters and I think ribbons need a temperature gradient to thermoregulate their body temps or they could die....
I think with the light i was using i had the tank about 85 during the day and 72 or so at night. I just bought another ribbon and the petco guy said that the pinkies have too much protein and that could be bad for the bladder or something.
I just bought another ribbon and the petco guy said that the pinkies have too much protein and that could be bad for the bladder or something.
Generally speaking, NEVER take any single person's word for something, ESPECIALLY a chain-store employee. There are some good ones out there, but I haven't found any. 
The guy at PetCo sounds like he's regurgitating something related to renal failure in primarily herbivorous herps (iguanas, for example) when they're fed mainly meat-type food (crickets, dog food, etc).
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Chris McMartin
www.mcmartinville.com
I'm Not a Herpetologist, but I Play One on the Internet
