Reptile & Amphibian Forums

both female snakes that I got from the same person have died for absolutely no reason. the first one, maybe she was a tiny bit too cold, I dont think so, but the second one, i JUST found her and theres no reason for her to have died. there was water, she was not the tiniest big stressed i barely messed with them at all, and she had plenty of heat and a cool side. i am furious. they were "just" normals but I paid a lot of money for them and now theyre just gone. I have had them for a couple months and they never ate for me, but they were still fat so they didnt starve to death

should i demand my money back or replacement snakes? what?

before you go angrily after the seller, first get a necropsy done to see what exactly killed the snakes.
it will cost you a few more dollars, but it will give you the proof needed if you plan to go to the seller saying the snakes were not healthy.

without a necropsy you can not know what it was that killed the snakes, and to lay blame immediately on the seller might be a bit premature. i can say with a fair amount of certainty he will turn around and say it was your fault and refuse to accept blame. i am not saying that it is your fault, i am simply saying you should establish what it was that killed them, it could have been parisites, or an infectious disease, in both cases, you need to know if it is something that may endanger the rest of your collection or future collections.

if it is found to be a pre-existing condition, ask for your money back, as well as the cost of a necropsy. if not, you might find that there was another problem, and avoid repeating it in the future.

how much are those? i really dont have a whole lot of money right now, no car, and no way to freeze the snake. I live with my mom and she will totally flip if she finds a dead snake in the freezer. what a way to get into ball pythons have half your purchase die on you

If the necropsy is like $20 I can do that. how soon would i have to get it done, also?

Freezing is not a good storage method if you want a necropsy.
It degrades the cells, making some tests imposable.

Keep it in the refrigerator, and get it done ASAP.

My vet has done a few for me for free(I give him a lot of business from rescues), so I don’t know the cost, but I don’t think it will be $20 or less, especially if you want lab work done.

Sorry for your loss.

TomChambers

don't freeze for accurate necropsy.......if the vet says it's ok....vet is not good enough to do proper job either

must be done within 24 hours too

costs more than $20

.........snakes can die from alot of things.....seller or keepers' mistakes........

.......
-----
................................................
..................gottaLuvIt!!

im sorry for your loss,but the first thing you need to do is calm down (I know its hard) understandably.what u need to do next is take 2 steps back and look at the WHOLE picture.you clearly stated that you just lost half your investment,which means if there is in fact another half u need to keep a watchfull eye.did you get ALL your snakes from the same person,if not, this is where quarantining (3 MONTHS MINIMUM) is of the UTMOST importance of ALLLL NEW ANIMALS NO MATTER WHERE OR WHO THEY COME FROM.were your animals that died kept in the same cage together,have they been in direct/indirect contact with your other animals,me personally i would immediatly change your food source if you buy your mice or rats from so&so get them from someone else,the rodents may be housed on cedar which is TOXIC to reptiles,also you said they never ate for you some animals dont eat because of stress,some because of the season (cooler weather),some because they are ball pythons and thats just what the do.you also said that that the 1 may have been left a bit to cold if that is in fact the case and the 1 developed a RI it could have very well been passed on to another animal.Did the deceased animals look like they had swollen stomachs, someone posted last year about a disease called crypto which killed a few of her snakes if im not mistaken,u really need to talk to your reptile guy that you got them from and see if he is having a problem also IIIIIIIIIF integrity is on the top of his priority list he will tell you if hes having a problem and work with you and not sell any animals until he gets his problem under control IF IT IS FACT ON HIS PART.If you out right attack him youll probably get nowhere. please give us feedback,it may be embarrasing but we will help you rectify your problem much faster than if you try to work it out yourself.tell us temps,amount of animals, food source,husbandry,if you got other reptiles from different people the main thing is being honest cause we cant help you if we dont know the FULL PICTURE,keep us posted

How cold did it get during shipping? If they got RI from shipping it could have taken 2 months for them to die. I think pointing fingers after you have had them form 2 months is almost out of the question.