my garters cause of death?

[kizikat]

hello to all, im searching for help so hopefully someone on here can help. my poor garter snake died this morning and i'd like to know the possible cause as i feel terrible. She had not eaten for 4 weeks but this wasnt uncommon for her around winter, she was still active untill last night when she was very still. i took out and gave her a bath2 raise her body temp but soon as she was back in the tank she didnt move all night and even turned upside down. she had not shed very well this time and i had tried to help that over the last 2 weeks.only last night did her upper body seem swollen and possibly her anus a little.im heart broken as i booked her in my vets but she died before i could get her there. she was 13 yrs old so had a good life but i'd love some answers to stop me blaming myself. thanks guys

[BUSHSNAKE]

13 years old? i say old age is a possibility

[dieselbaby]

Im no expert on this subject, but i would like to offer my condolences in losing your beloved garter. Its not easy i know.

[kibakiba]

Age could have been what killed her, she may have been impacted... Which may cause her to stop eating. Did you ever feed her on the substrate?
Why did you give her a bath to raise her temperature, and how warm was the water? Usually people just turn on a heat lamp to raise the temperature, or raise the rooms temperature

[chris-uk]

13 years old? i say old age is a possibility

I'm with Bushsnake. If there was no sign of any cause it's likely to be old age. 13 years is a good innings. And it sounds like you did what anyone else would have done. I don't know whether the bad shed is a sign that she was loosing strength or something else was wrong.
I'm sorry for your loss.

[PINJOHN]

It is great credit to you that you should react in this way over the death of you little friend, but the truth is that at thirteen this little fella was near the end and while some garters will go beyond thirteen many don't,
it's true of course that there is a specific cause for any death and at thirteen those causes are beginning to line up, meaning that if you get them through one crisis the next one is waiting in the wings, i have a lovely female radix KENZO she is about the same age as your snake not sure just how old as she was an adult when i got her, the first thing i do each day when coming in the room is to check on Kenzo, for exactly the reasons i have just given you, i will do my best to get her through the things that old age throws at her but my common sense tells me that there is a limit as to how long you can keep them with you,
sorry if the trend of this post is some what gloomy but on the upside you are now a member of the best site on the net you now have loads of friends waiting with good advice for your next little friend and you can even pass on some of your help and encouragement to new members coming on the site welcome to the site and get involved :)

[EasternGirl]

I do not have an answer to why your garter died...I just want to offer my sympathy in what is obviously a very difficult time for you. I am so very sorry about the loss of your friend. We welcome you to our community and hope that you will find some comfort and friendship here.

[infernalis]

I also wager old age.

13 years is a long and decent life. You did everything right!! 13 years is a lot longer than they live in the wild.

Sincere condolences for your loss.

[ssssnakeluvr]

Sorry for your loss. I am going with old age too....13 is a ripe old age for a garter.

[katach]

I'm very sorry for your loss. That is always sad. !3 is a ripe old age for a garter. The swelling you describe could be a blockage, but more likely it was old age that took your snake. Did your little one have a name? If you have any pictures we would love to see them. Welcome to the forum family. I wish it were under happier circumstances though.

[guidofatherof5]

Sorry to hear about your loss. 13 years, I bet there are a lot of great stories you could tell us.
Maybe after some time passes you can tell us about your friend.
What species was this snake?

It nice to have you on the forum and I hope you will take a moment and post in the "Welcome Lounge" so we can give you an appropriate welcome.
Welcome Lounge (http://www.thamnophis.com/forum/welcome-lounge/)

[d_virginiana]

Sorry for your loss :( At 13 she had a nice long life, and it sounds like you did all you could.

[kizikat]

wow you guys are all very kind. its a reassuring thought that old age took her instead of any fault of mine.shes the only snake iv owned and she was fab, more docile than my cat!! in responce to some questions, she was a planes garter, was feed on the substrate if she dragged mouse off (she would only eat mice,never fish etc) but that was never an issue over 13 yrs. she had weekly baths as its good for the breed, the tank temp may have been a little low but the room she was in is always a warm temp. after 13 yrs of care, iv racked my brain as too what caused her death but as her deteriation was so quick she never got to the vets. also, if it was any the problems iv read about can you even reverse damage? seems snakes are hard to save once they go down hill.
cheers

[infernalis]

With old age, snakes are the master of fooling us, they look perfectly fine and then get "elderly" all at once very quickly.

It's required in nature, You know "survival of the fittest" so the expiration from age happens all of a sudden and all at once.

[kibakiba]

Since they cant tell us that there's something wrong, and it usually doesn't start showing until its too late, it does tend to be hard to save them. My little Speckles went from a very healthy, active baby to a dying, sunken in and dehydrated seeming baby within a day. It was horrible to see her like that.