Sadness...

[Siofra Da`Halbria]

My beautiful pet snake Lilith (Lili) has died. Which I discovered Thursday afternoon. So I will tell you about it.

When I came back from San Diego, I bought Lili a mouse. I figured she'd be hungry since she hadn't eaten in about a week and a half. So I dangled the mouse in front of her face, like always. She looked at it, but never struck. After 20-30 minutes of dangling and dropping, and dangling and dropping again, I gave up. She wasn't going to eat it. So I put all her stuff back in her cage, and put the mouse in what used to be the hermit crab cage (they have a big one now). I gave it newspaper, bread, and water. I didn't think it would live much longer.

Fast forward a week and a half later. That would make it Thursday. I finally decided that I am tired of mouse feces and urine stinking up my bedroom. It's time for the little guy to die. I put the mouses' cage on my bed, take the lid off of Lili's cage, take her climbing stick out, and take her heat rock out. Lili doesn't move, but that's not unusual, since she is used to her feeding routine. I say to her "Hey Lili, you'd better eat this damn thing today." I pick her up to play with her, but she doesn't move. Her body is still warm though. I flip her over, not even a wiggle. She was dead. I wanted to scream. I didn't. I had a panic attack. I loved Lili. She was like a child to me.

I put her back in her cage, ran out into the hallway, leaned against the doorframe, and cried. I bawled like a baby. "Ally! (my sister) Lili! Lili's dead!" I couldn't stop crying. Lili was warm when I picked her up because she died in her favorite spot, next to her heat rock. Ally put Lili's body in a box, and after I had stopped most of my crying, we burried her. Ally dug the hole. I burried her in my backyard, in one of the garden planters. I didn't bury her in the box or plastic bag they used to hold her. I want her to return to nature.

But I miss her. I loved my Lili. I had thought the reason my room smelled so bad the past 3-4 days was because of the mouse. But it was actually because of Lili. Because her heat rock is always warm, I guess it had the same effect as leaving a body out in the hot sun. She was rotting on the inside.

But what I really have to say is, I don't know why she died. Her eyes were not dented, so she was not dehydrated. I want to know what happened to her. She was still young. I got her as a birthday present in May. My birthday is the 17th, so I got her on the 21st. She couldn't have been more than 2 weeks old when I got her. So let's say she was hatched on May 5th. That only made her about 4 1/2 months old. She was just a baby.

So do any of you have any idea why the gods/goddesses decided it was her time? She was so young.



Lilith and Dinner. Happy and healthy on September 7th, 2005.
I give the mice names like Food, Snake Food, and Dinner so I won't get attatched to them.  

[Atma311]

That's awful! I'm sorry to hear it and I hope your heart heals soon.

I don't know about the eating habbits of snakes, but are you sure you're only supposed to feed them once every 1 1/2 - 3 weeks? Sounds like a long time eek (Though I really have no experience with snakes whatsoever sweatdrop )  

[Siofra Da`Halbria]

Every 7-10 days. She could eat more often sometimes. Sometimes she could go longer.

And it's not unheard of for a snake to go on a fasting period. They can go for 2-3 months without food and be just fine.  

[WebenBanu]

It's true that it's common for snakes to go longer times without eating, so I doubt that she died from lack of food, Siofra. The thing about exotics is that they tend to hide any signs of illness. By the time you see that something's wrong, something has usually been wrong for a long time and they were just disguising it for as long as they can. This is especially true with reptiles- they get sick very slowly, and get better very slowly.

Without having had a doctor examine Lilith, it's hard to say what happened. The most common ailments which snakes present for at our hospital are bacterial infections and heating lamp/rock burns. Unfortunately, reptiles only sense warmth and cold- so they'll curl right up on a heating element which is too hot, and burn the part of themselves which is touching it because the rest of them is still too cold. Even if you saw burns on Lili, though, it could very well be because she'd been laying on or near her rock for so long afterward.

So it could have been an infection of some sort, or perhaps she just threw a clot- sometimes, for whatever reason, the clotting mechanism of the blood gets agitated and clumps together- blocking vital vessels. The result is a very quick and sudden death- it's not something you see every day, but neither is it uncommon.

*hugs* I am so sorry for your loss. I know that you gave everything you could have to Lilith- she had the one thing which is most precious to all pets: a loving home. I hope that you can understand how important of a gift that is, and in time, allow the memories of the good times you spent together to replace the pain which you are of course feeling right now.

She was a beautiful snake- may the gods receive her and guide her well until you meet again.  

[The Bookwyrm]

*hugs* I'm so sorry to hear of your loss. It's traumatic to lose a pet that you've been so close to. But at least you knew, had your chance to say good bye. I didn't when I lost Bear. I was away at school, and didn't find out about his death until a week and a half later, after everyone at home had mourned. I appreciate on one level not being told, because I'd have never been able to focus on my exams otherwise, but it was still a very hard Christmas.

As for what happene to Lili, it's very hard to say. It's very possibly that there may have been something wrong internally, like a heart defect, that went undiagnosed and finally caught up to her. The problem with animals is, while they bring us so much joy, they can't tell us when they feel off colour, and we can misread signs, if they're even there to begin with.  

[Jameta]

You know my feelings from dA. crying heart

As for why, there is a multitude of possibilities, and there can be multiple answers, both veternary-medical and spiritual. The reason(s) is/are there if you search through both realms, and of course, we are willing to help sift through the information you recieve.  

[Siofra Da`Halbria]

I really do think that it was just her time. She wasn't burned or anything. I used to lift up the cloth keeping the heat in her cage every day and say "Hi Lili!". But I stopped for some reason, around the time she died. If I had started saying "hi" to her in the morning, I would have noticed she was dead sooner.

Sad thing is, I tried to make her a vet appointment on the same day that we took the cats and dogs in. But the vet's assisstant freaked out when I suggested the idea. She said that they didn't "do" snakes there. I bet she was just afraid of snakes though. I wonder if what killed her could have been diagnosed by the vet. I am sure he had at least basic snake knowledge. I would be mad if I found out she had something curable and the vet assisstant condemned my snake to death.  

[The Bookwyrm]

If the vet assistant said they don't do snakes, then they likely don't. My mother is one, and although I'm basing this entirely upon my knowledge of how the clinic she worked in opperated, they don't simply tell customers they don't "do" a certain animal if they don't. Snakes are different from your run of the mill pets, same as farm animals, and they have to go to a specialized vet (large animal vet) for diagnosis and treatment. The clinic would lose money if the vet assistant simply said that, and she wouldn't have a job for very long, as specialized treatments cost more money.  

[Siofra Da`Halbria]

She could of at least referred me to someone who does take snakes. It's not like I innately know who to call. or have the time to flip through the phone book.  

[WebenBanu]

Like Gypsy said, vets who see exotics are more rare than vets who see cats and dogs. I work in a hosptial which sees mainly exotics, but our clients have a lot of trouble whenever we're not open, because even the local emergency clinic doesn't know a whole lot about exotics- birds, especially. We're working on training the ER staff, and on building ourselves up to the point where we can stay open 24/7, but for the moment we all just have to do the best we can.

I'm pretty sure the tech you talked to wasn't lying about them not doing snakes there- reptile medicine is very different from the usual small animal medicine. Different species require special kinds of medicines, have different sets of problems, different treatment techniques, different methods of restraint- in short, if a vet who didn't know anything about exotics tried to see one just because one called in wanting an appointment, he might do more harm than good. And most vet schools don't offer very much training in exotics, because most people deal either with dogs and cats or farm animals- exotic vets have to scrounge around for special seminars and other, more experienced vets who are willing to act as advisors, and build up their own experience as they go.

That's why it's a good idea to start looking for an exotic vet as soon as you get your pet- if not before. By the time something happens, you usually don't have time to find one. You could try doing an internet search for "snake vets," or "exotic vet" and your city, or another city in the area, or even your state. And ask around- especially if there are any veterinary schools in your area. Your state vet's office may also be able to direct you to an appropriate source. Just so that you have some resources available next time. If you'd like some help finding a vet, and are willing to share your general geographic location with me, then I'll see what I can do- but I can't promise anything. You could probably find the same vets that I could by asking around in your area.  

[Siofra Da`Halbria]

Egh. I don't think I am going to get another snake. I loved Lili, and no other snake would make me feel the same. I don't like my other pets though. They're annoying.  

[The Bookwyrm]

Siofra Da`Halbria

She could of at least referred me to someone who does take snakes. It's not like I innately know who to call. or have the time to flip through the phone book.

You may not have on in your area, and she may not have been aware of where there was one. I live in a small town, so all of the vets know eachother and know their practices well enough to make referrals. If you're in a larger area, they may not know, or she may assume that you'd start calling around if the problem was serious enough to warrent an examination. It's definately a sign of a bad vet, though, to not make a referral.  

[Siofra Da`Halbria]

Gypsy Blue

Siofra Da`Halbria

She could of at least referred me to someone who does take snakes. It's not like I innately know who to call. or have the time to flip through the phone book.

You may not have on in your area, and she may not have been aware of where there was one. I live in a small town, so all of the vets know eachother and know their practices well enough to make referrals. If you're in a larger area, they may not know, or she may assume that you'd start calling around if the problem was serious enough to warrent an examination. It's definately a sign of a bad vet, though, to not make a referral.

She wasn't having a problem at the time. I just wanted to get her a check up. And the vet techs aren't too bright. My mom told one of them to keep her face away from our dog, because she was handling him roughly, and he's old. And of course, she didn't listen. She said "oh its okay." She stuck her face right in his, despite the warning, and got bit.  

[Amyane]

Awww. I'm so sorry for you. crying I hate loosing pets, and things close to me. I have no answer though. D: I do not know much about reptiles, or why she could have died.