After wanting one since I was 15....I purchased a Ball Python hatchling about 4 weeks ago from a local Pet Shop...we had her sexed and everything at the vet and everything seemed to be fine..she was very active, alert, and her body was very well rounded like she had been fed very well.

So over the next couple weeks I kept a close eye on all the temps, the humidity, cleaned the cage every day, fresh water, held her often etc etc...following every rule i'd found on every site I could find...and she seemed to be adjusting perfectly...she was very well mannered and seemed to enjoy the attention....

I began purchasing very small mice around the second week and she would not eat. I tried live mice, killing the mice, frozen mice....every possible way and she would not eat. I called the vet and he said this was normal for a Ball Python and I had no worries unless I began to see sufficient weight loss...

However..about an hour and a half ago.....I just had to experience my baby python dying. After wanting one for so long and doing everything I could to maintain a perfect environment for her, this was very very traumatic for me...

The only change in her persona that I noticed was that this evening when I went to handle her for the usual 30 minutes, she wasn't gripping my hand as she usually does..she was just kind of sliding off my arm. There were a couple of points when she would open her mouth as if to bite me, though she never really showed any signs of aggression...I figured she may've been hungry so I placed her back in her terrarium and decided to purchase another mouse. However, later when I removed the screen from her terrarium, she was acting very strangely. She was 'flexing' or something, she would flatten her body completely out and then swell up and she was moving very weirdly...like her back half would work but her front half wouldn't...there were no vets available and I could not find a herp hotline to dial and as I was holding her in my hands..she passed away.

All I can do is sit here and wonder what I did wrong....does anyone have any idea what could have been wrong with her?

was she "star gazing" ? I had a baby BP that was completely normal for 4-5weeks then started to stretch up and stare, 3 days after noticing this she was gone. After talking the symptoms over with the Herpetologist of the Virginia Zoo he guessed it was inclusion body disease (Inclusion Body Disease) which is actually neurological and kills quickly

__________________
Ken
"Some people spend an entire lifetime wondering if they made a difference in the world. But, the Marines don't have that problem." -- Ronald Reagan

Oh,,,,welcome to Herpcenter !!!!!! sorry didn't notice it was your first post. If your BP was wild caught it could have had parasites.

__________________
Ken
"Some people spend an entire lifetime wondering if they made a difference in the world. But, the Marines don't have that problem." -- Ronald Reagan

Last night and this morning she seemed to be displaying small signs of stargazing. She would just come to a corner and lift her head/neck and stare for 5-10 minutes and then move to the next corner and do the same thing.

I read up on that....but she didn't have any other symptoms. I don't know...It's just a pretty rough blow...I thought of taking the body and having a vet check...but it's harsh to keep looking at her waiting on her to come back to life...

oh and thank you for the welcome.

I am sorry to hear this. Its rough to lose one when you don't know why!
Is it possible that you had been spraying something around the house or the snake could have been exposed to some other toxin?

__________________
Merlin,
What's Life Without A Little Magic!

Thanks.

As far as toxins and things, I wouldn't think that would be the cause, but I'm looking for anything at this point. I cleaned the house earlier..but she has her own room and I'm very careful about what I bring into it, i've not sprayed anything near her room since i've had her. however, earlier when I was holding her I did go throughout the house...is it possible she inhaled something?

what substrate did she have and did you feed her in her tank?
a seprate feeding box is a must as eating substrate can cause an impaction

welcome to the HCN and im terribly sorry for your loss
do let us know if you get another one, a lost herp happens to the best of us

__________________
0.0.1 Iguana Pickle
0-1-0 Bearded Dragon Honey
1-1-0 Red Tail Boa Libby&Dogma
1-0-0 Cat Rajha
0-0-1 Charcoal Corn Snake Strider
1-1-0 Chinese Water Dragons Isis & Osiris
1-1-0 Cockitiles Hawk&Ashley
1-0-0 Tangerine Leopard Gecko 9erz
0-1-0 Leopard gecko Jets
1-0-0 Mali Uromastyx Uri
0-0-2 Betas Holly & Go (kids fish)
0-0-1 Red Eared Slider Shelly
R.I.P hamster hamtaro
R.I.P Wolf Lab Cross Kenya

Thanks Dawg,

the only thing I had in her terrarium was blank newspaper pages that I had picked up from the local paper printing. She didn't eat the entire time she was with me....though I tried several times in her tank.

i want to get another, but I think i'm going to hold off and get better prepared for the next one...maybe purchase one a little older, maybe it'll have more of a chance....

if they dont eat on feeding day wich for me is thursday I wait 5 days and try again feeding is actually stressful for a snake especially if it has just moved my red tailed boa didnt eat for the first 3 weeks and feeding in their home can make them aggressive towards the keeper and sooner than later you will not be able to put your hands in the tank. i use a sterilite sweater box with holes drilled in the lid to feed libby(red tail boa) if shes not interested at first I put the dead thawed mouse in there and walk away for about an hour. and the mouse is usually gone when I get back to her

__________________
0.0.1 Iguana Pickle
0-1-0 Bearded Dragon Honey
1-1-0 Red Tail Boa Libby&Dogma
1-0-0 Cat Rajha
0-0-1 Charcoal Corn Snake Strider
1-1-0 Chinese Water Dragons Isis & Osiris
1-1-0 Cockitiles Hawk&Ashley
1-0-0 Tangerine Leopard Gecko 9erz
0-1-0 Leopard gecko Jets
1-0-0 Mali Uromastyx Uri
0-0-2 Betas Holly & Go (kids fish)
0-0-1 Red Eared Slider Shelly
R.I.P hamster hamtaro
R.I.P Wolf Lab Cross Kenya

Hi, and welcome to the HCN. Im sorry ot hear about your loss!