Dingleberry

[Elliot]

Sorry Stefan.

[Josh]

crap man
sorry for ya

[Stefan-A]

Thanks for your support, guys.

[Lori P]

Stephan, so sorry for the loss of the snake. Did you really send it off for a necropsy? Let us know the results...

[Stefan-A]

Yeah, and I will.

[Spiritwolf]

I would like to know the results of the necropsy too. What you experienced sounds somewhat similar to what I observed in a baby I recently lost. While the baby didn't have any dingleberry problem, it showed anorexia and unexplained dehydration despite having plenty of water, a heated area available, etc. This youngster was born August 2, so it had been feeding well and doing fine for quite a while too, the problem struck quite suddenly and the baby died less than 48 hrs after it showed the first signs that something wasn't right. (Listlessness was the first indication, refusal to eat, then the pronounced dehydration and death). There were no other signs of any kind of problem before the sudden illness.

This baby was born to a wild-caught rescue mother, I don't know if that could be a factor or not. The rest of the family is in great shape (including the other babies, although I now of course, am a bit worried that somebody else will get sick after this one did.)

[Stefan-A]

I completely forgot to update this, got the results earlier this week. Apparently, the cause of death was renal failure (chronic?) and there were signs of dehydration, hyperuricemia and septicemia. No mentions of any cysts/tumors or specific sources of the septicemia.

At least the crypto test came back negative.

I'm trying to read up on the subject right now, unfortunately I don't know how much of what applies to humans also applies to reptiles. Most sources seem to focus on dietary issues.

[Lori P]

Interesting... there are probably so many reasons for renal failure in reptiles too... could even have been congenital. It's always good to have an answer, even if that answer leads to more questions, lol.

[Stefan-A]

Found one possible cause, but I think it's still unlikely. There was a period a few months ago, when I had difficulties controlling the temperature in the terrarium, but I solved that problem almost immediately. Apparently too high temperatures combined with over-feeding could cause kidney failure, but the little guy was on a 2:1 mouse/fish diet and got about 10% of his body weight in food per week.

[Lori P]

I wouldn't think that a short term temp flux would have caused it. I would think it would have to be a long term situation. But who knows. You can second quess yourself to distraction.