why did my garter snake lupi die.

[jules]

i have only had him since march and he was fine last night. this morning he was limp and not moving. i took him to the pet shop and they said he was dead. there was little crawlies in his viv which they said looked like small ants but they had never come across them before. i just cant understand it. he was given a thorough clean at the start of june with no problems???? im so puzzled and upset by this. the pet shop said just bin everything!!! has anyone ever come across this before or knows of any reasons why he died. thank you

[infernalis]

You have my heartfelt condolences..

Without doing an autopsy any guess would be just that a guess.

What kind of crawlies?? Snake mites?

[anji1971]

I'm sorry for your loss.:(:(
Could the bugs have been mites? They could do harm to a snake.
It may have also been something totally unrelated. It's sometimes impossible to tell.
My sympathies...........

[jules]

they wernt ticks. its really puzzling . i thought it might be from the bark chippings?? the other day my son said he had ? pooed some white stuff but he had cleaned it before i could have a look. he said his friend said it was calcuim ?? i just cant understand why it was so quick.:confused::confused:

[jules]

i know it wont bring him back but we only got him in march and he was lovely. my son doesnt know yet! thank you everyone.

[Snake lover 3-25]

that's so sad.... i'm sorry... you have mysympathies as well:(

[Garter_Gertie]

Jules, I'm so very sorry for your loss.

[count dewclaw]

Sorry to hear Lupi died.

[jules]

if these crawlies were mites what sort of symptoms would he have shown? although the pet shop didnt know what they were.

[Stefan-A]

Sorry about your loss. :(

My guess is that the small bugs were thrips (completely harmless) and the white stuff is almost certainly just the normal uric crystals. I think whatever killed your snake is completely unrelated to both issues.

[crzy_kevo]

im so sorry for your loss jules

[jitami]

Jules, sorry I don't have any help figuring out why Lupi died, but wanted to say sorry for your loss. :(

[adamanteus]

I agree with Stefan's opinion on this. If the 'crawlies' had been mites and had caused his death, there would have been a gradual deteriation in Lupis' health. Thrips are drawn to the atmosphere of a viv. If they were indeed mites, I don't think they killed him.

Was Lupi still quite young? This can happen with baby snakes sometimes... Last year I bought a pair of CB Eastern Black Necks, the male was always the stronger one and the best eater. One morning I found him dead. No apparent reason, no symptoms I had seen. Just as if someone switched him off.

I'm really sorry this happened to you Julie.:(

[ssssnakeluvr]

sorry for your loss. sometimes that happens, I have had a few over the years that are eating just fine and they die.....

[jules]

lupi was 1 year old. i told my son when he came in from school and he was heart broken. hes made a little coffin and weve made a cross. hed like to bury him in the garden. he just looked so healthy and he was quite active this morning then just died within 2 hours. as this was my first snake im very wary about another in case the same thing happens. i found the pet shop quite uncaring when i took him down which didnt help. thank you everyone for all your help.xx

[adamanteus]

Poor lad. Pet Shops are always uncaring... they just want your money. Don't give up on Garters because of this, Julie.... it happens.

[jeanette]

jules im so sorry, its always hard when you lose a pet, its especially hard when your the one that has to tell the kids, ive been there and its awful.
dont give up on snakes...they really are amazing. my advice would be dont buy from a pet shop in future, ask around on here theres plenty of people that breed for the love of them not because they are profit hungry and they will not sell you a snake that is unhealthy.

[drache]

I'm so sorry for your loss, Jules

[Sid]

Really sorry to hear of the loss, Jules. Like James has already said, don't give up. It can and does happen to many of us.

[jules]

Thank you everyone. you have all been very kind. we go on holiday at the end of the month so when we come back we will get another garter snake. if anyone knows of any in the uk could you please let me know. thanks again.x

[gregmonsta]

Sorry to hear about your snake :(

[el lobo]

Hard to tell w/o a necropsy...even then, hard to tell unless there is something obvious. Sorry for your loss :(

[aSnakeLovinBabe]

this JUST happened to me. yesterday, I found my adult male albino checkered dead... for outwardly NO reason.. he was always even a better eater than the female!! She passed away a few months ago of the same unexpected death...

[ssssnakeluvr]

sorry to hear that!!! it always sucks when on dies like that!!!! :(

[Garter_Gertie]

this JUST happened to me. yesterday, I found my adult male albino checkered dead... for outwardly NO reason.. he was always even a better eater than the female!! She passed away a few months ago of the same unexpected death...

Oh, Shannon. I am so sorry.

[infernalis]

Sorry to hear that Shannon... :(

[jeanette]

Thank you everyone. you have all been very kind. we go on holiday at the end of the month so when we come back we will get another garter snake. if anyone knows of any in the uk could you please let me know. thanks again.x
if you can get to the doncaster show this september the Garter snake man Alan Francis is supposed to have a table there. maybe you can gbet a very pretty garter from him.

[Stefan-A]

Sorry about the loss, Shannon. :(