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.

[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.