Wayne's reptile room

[snakehill]

Oh no!! Wayne I am so sorry! We love you Chomper! You will be missed!!! RIP buddy!

[kibakiba]

Oh no. Rest in peace, Chomper.

[PINJOHN]

This really is a bad news week on the site, first Steve's terrible news and now this, i really am upset at this guys demise he was a character in his own right and I like many more i suspect, was looking forward to many reports on his adventures both out and about and within his new palace
so sorry Wayne

[EasternGirl]

Oh my gosh...Wayne...I just read this and I can't believe it. I am in tears. I refuse to believe it. The Chomps. There are just no words. I can't begin to imagine what you and Dorothy are going through right now. If there is anything I can do, please let me know. You guys are in my prayers. Rest in peace Chomper...you will be missed dearly.

[chris-uk]

Really bad news. Not much anyone can say really.

[pauleve]

sorry for your loss mate

[Stefan-A]

Sorry to hear it, Wayne.

[aSnakeLovinBabe]

awwww no... not Chomper too! So sorry.... what a tough loss to take... I too, just lost my own rescued savannah Fluffy last week... it was not easy to walk in and find my Fluffernutter curled up in the corner... but I knew his time with me would be short, due to the SEVERE neglect his previous owner had put him through... he was only with us for a little over a year.

[RedSidedSPR]

i dont know what to say. Sorry Wayne, Chomper was awesome R.I.P.

[infernalis]

Two good things came from this..

My faith in humanity went up when forum members from ssnakess secretly purchased a baby Savannah monitor that ships out Monday.

All I have to do is call the vendor tomorrow (well later today, since it is 1:00am) and make my selection, everything is all paid for.

The other is, I am writing up a data sheet regarding low level long term dehydration and how it elevates uric acid levels and disrupts body chemistry in reptiles, Working with 2 herp specialists veterinarians, this information will help save the lives of many animals that are kept in less than adequate conditions.

Tropical reptiles that require elevated humidity levels of 50%-80% and higher may appear to be thriving when kept at lower humidity levels, and the truth is their body chemistry is disrupted, uric acid levels elevate and organs shut down.

In the case of Varanus (Monitor Lizards) they are such rugged animals that symptoms take years to manifest, and by the time a full fledged case of gout sets in, it's too late to reverse the damage.

One day they appear fine, the next they are dead.

This may also be the case of what is going on with the Cyclophiops Major, no one has been able to get one to stay alive past a year.

I am eager now to purchase another and try keeping it in a more tropical rain forest type environment and see if it lasts longer.

It only makes sense that if these snakes live just fine in the jungle, then something in captive husbandry needs to change, otherwise every single specimen sold in the pet trade is doomed to live roughly a year from the time they touch down on US soil.