Sad News

[Mommy2many]

Late this morning, I found that my first snake, Stewie, had passed away. She had been lethargic lately, almost appearing as if she was an "old snake" She could have been as she was a W/C. She had lived with our family for 1 1/2 years. When we found her, she was gravid and gave birth to 11 beautiful babies. We have 6 of them still, 3 males and 3 females. One looks just like her Mom. I estimate her age to be at least 3 1/2 years old. She was around 26" when she was found. I will miss her terribly but we still have her offspring as her legacy. Unfortunately, proper burial will have to wait until spring, as we have at least 8" of new snow today, and it is still falling. I am happy to have known her and been witness to the last half of her life.:(

[andycul]

Sorry to hear that. At least you had the joy of knowing her for a while

[Mommy2many]

Thank you.

[guidofatherof5]

R.I.P Stewie. Our prayers are out to you and your family.
It's great you have the babies to work with and care for. If you're up to it how about an old photo of Stewie.

[Mommy2many]

Thank you, Steve. I will try & get a better picture but she is the larger snake in my avatar. The little one was "baby snake", who passed away shortly after we had found her. She must have been a newborn and we only had her for about 6 weeks. They were my original "snuggle snakes".

[guidofatherof5]

My greatest comfort in these times is the memories I have with the snake. For me, a lot of interaction means a lot of good memories and funny stories.
Care to share any stories about Stewie. When you're ready.;)

[Mommy2many]

She never bit me:)

[guidofatherof5]

She never bit me:)

That's a shame:D

[Mommy2many]

No worries, her roomate Midnight does it everytime!

[gregmonsta]

Sorry for your loss. It's nice you still have some of her progeny kicking about though ;).

[EasternGirl]

I'm very sorry for your loss. My thoughts are with you.

[ConcinusMan]

Sorry to hear that Le Ann :(

[kibakiba]

Sorry for your loss, Le Ann.

[Stefan-A]

Sorry to hear it.

[erinlovessnakes]

mom it's true that midnight always bites you when you pick her up. she leaves a bite mark on her too. when i caught her she bit me too and this was in the summer time.:p

[mustang]

aww im sorry leann....stewie was a cool snake

[charles parenteau]

Sorry about the loss!!

[infernalis]

Sorry to hear that, Like you said, the offspring do lessen the loss a tad.

[count dewclaw]

So sorry for your loss.

[i_heart_sneakie_snakes]

Oh no LeAnn, that is such sad news :( I feel lucky to have one of her babies.

[PINJOHN]

sorry to hear your bad news, i have a special snake, kenzo she was a rescue snake and i estimate her age to be about the same, i am stealing my self for a similar situation, she is showing all the signs of advanced age ,she doesn't move around as much as she used to, and when you hold her she just doesn't have that lower body strength that snakes have, much of her curiosity has diminished she was always such a nosey parker when i have her out of her tank. she really is a very special radix
i noticed it was steve to the rescue again, he can always be relied on to say just the right thing, i hope she lines long in your memory

[guidofatherof5]

I too have dealt with a few aged radixes. They are so special.
Inactivity and lack of strength are clear signs. I've also noticed a contentment(as I call it) with them. My last aged snake was my friend Scar. I still miss that old man.
The time we spent together was priceless. I wish I would have had more time.
A flood of memories have just hit me and I need a break.
He was a great radix.;)

[Scott F]

Sorry for your loss. As Wayne mentioned, hopefully the babies help lessen the pain a bit.

Scott

[Mommy2many]

Thank you all for your condolences. The babies are really special to us since we did get to know their Mom. I really believe it was old/advanced age. Her recent behavior just seemed to fit what I would expect if I was getting on in years. We caught her roomate, Midnight, a couple months after her. Midnight is the same size as Stewie and you visibly see the difference in them, i.e. age to youth. I will owe Stewie so much, as she was the catalyst to finding this forum and meeting and befriending so many of you. She was the link in that time line and for that, she was very special. She renewed a childhood love that I had all but forgotten about. Many of you helped me care for her properly in the early days. Thank you so much!

[jitami]

So sorry, Le Ann :( It's the time of year where I'm afraid to look for Sly every time I change water or get into his tank for anything. Glad you have some of her babies, but I know it's just not the same. Hugs...

[Mommy2many]

Thank you for the hugs. I miss her...