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gabriella_x
Snake Mite
United Kingdom
3 Posts |
 Posted - 24/07/2009 : 23:25:12
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I bought a 3month old Royal approx 3.5weeks ago...
Since bringing 'her' home, she refused to eat for the first two weeks, despite the shop owner informing me before the purchase that she had been striking at her food and was feeding fine on one pinky per week.
I then returned to the shop to be told that it was 'normal' for Royals not to eat for a few weeks after moving, as they take time to re-adjust to their new environment and become settled, but if I was still worried in a week or so to bring her back and they would try to feed her in her old viv.
So, happy with this info, I went home, and made the decision to take her back to the shop the following Thursday (24.07.09) if she still hadnt fed.
On the wednesday night, I washed my hands and picked Reggie up. She was quite happy, and wrapped herself around my wrist and fingers and then started to squeeze, which she usually does. So, happy that she didnt seem to be ill from not eating, after about 10 mins I put her back and she went off exploring. She climbed over her bark, and went for a lie in her water.
So, yesterday morning, seeing as she still hadnt eaten, despite me trying every two days with a different pinky each time, I got up with the intention of taking her to the shop and seeing what they thought.
I got up at around 11am (I had been 'puppysitting' and the 4week old staffy found it compulsory to keep me up half the night) and went to check on Reggie. She looked ok, curled up in a ball as she usually is when we get up in a morning, so I went to get a wash and get dressed. When I got back however, she was 'stargazing' and when I lifted her out, all underneath the first quarter of her body seemed to have 'hollowed' as if there was nothing inside her. I rang my mum straight away and 10mins later we had her on the way back to the shop.
When we got there, the guy in the shop wasnt sure what was wrong, but said to keep her hydrated and bring her back the following morning to see the 'Snake Specialist' staff member (typical my problem occurs on his one day off!). I wasn't happy, but did as he suggested.
When I got home, I gave my boyfriend strict instructions not to leave her to long, and to make sure she stayed hydrated, and I went to the stables to feed my horses.
At about 4pm however, I got a phone call from the boyfriend telling me Reggie seemed to be getting worse, so I went straight home, and when I arrived, Reggie was yet again 'stargazing' but this time, she was also laid on one side and couldn't seem to pick herself up. My boyfriend also told me that before she got this bad, she had also tried to bite him, and my neighbour who he had brought to look at her as they have had Royals in the past and wondered if the could shed some light. This in itself was totally out of character as she has never even hissed at us before.
So, once again, packed her up into her travel tank, and off we went to the shop, as the vets were now shut. When we got there, the guy said there was nothing he could do but I could leave her there overnight and he would get the 'snake specialist' to look at her first thing in the morning if it would make me feel better, and although I still thought more could have been done, I agreed, thinking it would be better for her.
But, sadly when I arrived at the shop this morning, I was told Reggie had passed during the night.
I was completely devastated, and although the shop have said they'll replace the snake as they highly doubt it was anything I did, I still wish some light to be shed on this, as I got really attached to Reggie, and would hate for this to happen to another snake.
The thing that confused me the most was the speed at which she deteriorated, because although she hadnt been eating, it wasn't even 24hours between her starting to show signs of illness/disease and her actually passing.
I have read up a bit and think it sounds slightly like it could be IBD, but would like ANY information, or opinions.
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MissCat
Fully Grown Royal
1971 Posts |
Posted - 25/07/2009 : 00:13:22
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so sorry to hear of your loss :(
i dont really know enough about ibd personally, but it does sound like it could be, a post mortem should confirm this, which in my opinion you should do.
royals can be quite ill for a long time before actually showing any signs of it.
i am relatively new to royals myself, but there seems to have been a lot of deaths lately....B.E- is this normal or does it seem more deaths than usual?
though i highly doubt that anything you did personally caused the death of your royal, since you only had it for such a short time, do u have any pics and info on the set up you had it in?
dont let this put you off royal keeping though, as it can be very rewarding, however in future i would not purchase from a pet shop, prices are often inflated in shops, the snakes history can be vague and the shops themselves are not always as knowledgable about the species they are selling as they appear to be.
also, if you get the PM done, be sure to let the pet shop know the outcome, i wouldn't let them replace the royal either (personal choice) but i would push for a refund.
again- sorry for your loss :( xx |
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Blackecho
Royal Python Admin
United Kingdom
11327 Posts |
Posted - 25/07/2009 : 08:50:23
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There are a lot of deaths at the moment Cat, but its the time of year for it with all the hatchlings about, there were a lot more last year to be honest, I remember a batch of 40 dying on someone. Even Mart (Magneticblue) had two die last summer.
Gabriella, whilst IBD isn't impossible, its still very very rare and highly unlikely, also, the only way you could be certain is by a liver biopsy in a post mortem. If it was IBD though, it would mean that your Pet Shop would probably have to get rid of all its stock!
Do you know how much Reggie weighed? - I'm thinking that it may be more likely that it was poorly from day one and hadn't eaten enough to survive. A pinky is not sufficient for a Royal to survive on, that's hatchling Corn food, so if it'd only had a couple of pinkies its whole life that may be it. I feed hatchlings straight onto Small Mice or Rat Pups.
Royals are easily stressed out and stop eating. Handling can stress them out and is not advisable until they are settled and in an eating pattern, it sounds like you were handling even after you knew there were problems. Also, offering food too often can stress them out, I would advise no more often than every 5 days. You were offering every 2 days which may put them off. Incorrect habitat can also be a problem, have you got a photo of your setup?
The Stargazing can be caused by other problems, the most common being neurological problems caused by overheating, how were you heating him, how did you measure the temperature and how was it controlled?
The biting is very usual in the final stages of a snake's life, they bite everything, including people, substrate and themselves.
It is most likely that this was just not meant to be, just nature, but if you can answer the questions above we 'may' be able to help you to not go through this again.
Piers |
 
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gabriella_x
Snake Mite
United Kingdom
3 Posts |
Posted - 25/07/2009 : 13:15:04
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Unfortunately I cannot upload pictures as I only have my mobile, and I don't have the software to upload onto my dads laptop which I am currently using as I recently moved and have no internet.
I did handle her sometimes, but not alot. About once or twice a week, and I only did that because I was worried she would lose weight with not eating and I wanted to check her over.. Also, the pinky every two days was during her last week, before that I was offering around every 4-6days.
As for the setup, she was temporarily in a 3x1x1, heated with a lamp, and the temp was usually around 88C in the warm end, 82-84C in the cool end. Her water bowl was in the cool end, and she had a hide in the middle. She also had a small bark log near the hide.
I feel quite daft now, as I never actually thought to weigh her :(
Thanks for your advice, and I'm just hoping now that it wasn't something I did the lack of knowledge or something. |
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MissCat
Fully Grown Royal
1971 Posts |
Posted - 25/07/2009 : 14:06:40
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quote:
Originally posted by gabriella_x
Unfortunately I cannot upload pictures as I only have my mobile, and I don't have the software to upload onto my dads laptop which I am currently using as I recently moved and have no internet.
I did handle her sometimes, but not alot. About once or twice a week, and I only did that because I was worried she would lose weight with not eating and I wanted to check her over.. Also, the pinky every two days was during her last week, before that I was offering around every 4-6days.
As for the setup, she was temporarily in a 3x1x1, heated with a lamp, and the temp was usually around 88C in the warm end, 82-84C in the cool end. Her water bowl was in the cool end, and she had a hide in the middle. She also had a small bark log near the hide.
I feel quite daft now, as I never actually thought to weigh her :(
Thanks for your advice, and I'm just hoping now that it wasn't something I did the lack of knowledge or something.
hope you meant to put the temperature as farenheit not centigrade lol.
the size viv is suitable for an older, bigger royal, but not for a hatchling, also you would need 2-3 hides at least.
Did you have a thermostat? and how were you measuring the temperature, was it with a digital thermometer or dial thermometer?
will you be getting a pm done? |
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snakielover
Snake Mite
United Kingdom
23 Posts |
Posted - 25/07/2009 : 14:39:23
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| R.I.P you did everything you could |
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dazb
Royal Python Moderator
United Kingdom
2847 Posts |
Posted - 25/07/2009 : 15:34:32
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Im sorry for your loss...Its really sad that the cause of death is unknown and TBH without a PM you will never get to find out.
Do not let it put you off keeping royals and from wot i have read it is doubtful that you are to blame... |
 
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wolfspirit
Old Royal - I Post too much!
United Kingdom
5741 Posts |
Posted - 25/07/2009 : 21:06:46
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so sorry to read of this,
it always makes me very sad when this happens,
as has been said without getting a pm done you wont know what caused it,
my thoughts are with you...
rip little one... |
"No one can go back and make a brand new start. Anyone can start from
now and make a brand new ending."
-- Source Unknown
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gabriella_x
Snake Mite
United Kingdom
3 Posts |
Posted - 28/07/2009 : 12:54:44
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Thank you everyone, I have not let it put me off as I am now waiting for another, that we are getting from a breeder, not a pet shop :)
And yes MissCat, I did mean to put it as Farenheit lol.
I was measuring with a digital thermometer.
I will be picking up a couple more hides today. And at the same time, I will be going to find out whether the shop organised a PM for me or not.
x |
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wolfspirit
Old Royal - I Post too much!
United Kingdom
5741 Posts |
Posted - 28/07/2009 : 14:01:00
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quote:
Originally posted by gabriella_x
Thank you everyone, I have not let it put me off as I am now waiting for another, that we are getting from a breeder, not a pet shop :)
And yes MissCat, I did mean to put it as Farenheit lol.
I was measuring with a digital thermometer.
I will be picking up a couple more hides today. And at the same time, I will be going to find out whether the shop organised a PM for me or not.
x
HI, good luck with the new one when you get it...
make sure to thoroughly scrub the viv inside and out..lol..before adding anything else to it..
also was your heat on a stat?
good luck with the newbie, when are you picking it up?
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"No one can go back and make a brand new start. Anyone can start from
now and make a brand new ending."
-- Source Unknown
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gordon
Hatchling
United Kingdom
73 Posts |
Posted - 28/07/2009 : 15:34:49
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| dont let it put you off they are very rewarding and brill animals to own |
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karl
Fully Grown Royal
1069 Posts |
Posted - 28/07/2009 : 23:10:09
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When they are that skinny things can change VERY quickly. I was quite happy for the two hatchlings I had to go on not eating, until they dropped below 50g, at which point I assisted them both.
Only things you can check are for contaminents, aerosols, pine based bedding (big no no) etc |
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spor
Fully Grown Royal
United Kingdom
1226 Posts |
Posted - 31/07/2009 : 02:12:07
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| sorry for your lose , good luck with the new one, |
0.4.0 Royal Python
1.0.0 Pastel Royal
0.1.0 Spider Royal
1.1.0 Carolina Corn Snake
1.0.0 Normal Stripe Corn
1.0.0 Yellow Bellied Turtle
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Sudden Death !
