I write this with a very heavy heart. I got up this morning to find our dear sweet Rook limp and unresponsive in her tank. Rook (the person, Shayna) is still sleeping, as it's her day off. She will be devastated.

There was obvious signs of thrashing around her tank, and Rook's mouth was full of dirt. She's only one year old.

Sunday morning she had upchucked Friday's fuzzy. That's when I realized we had forgotten to turn the heating system back on in the house the previous night. The tank was only mid-60's... it seems the undertank heating pad was not working. Rook was otherwise fine though at the time. We couldn't get out right away to buy a new heater, so thought we could get by temporary by using a 40 watt red light bulb on a corner of the tank for a few nights. As long as the heat was on in the house, it wouldn't get really cold anyway. We use a regular 60 watt bulb for extra heat for her during the day. She usually prefers the cooler end of the tank anyway.

She was out and around quite a bit yesterday and the day before. Last night we offered her a fuzzy, which she refused. This morning her tank was a mess and she was limp.

What could have killed her? Once cool night? A few nights of red light in one corner? Until recently there was a light on in a corner of the room 24/7, and it never bothered her. She was a strong, healthy snake.

It's going to be a long day