R.I.P. Spectre

**actionplant** · #1 10-31-2005, 12:44 PM

A while back a 160watt MV bulb was accidentally left face-down on the carpet in the reptile room. The room is automated and the lights kicked on at 8am the next morning. By 8:45 the house was full of smoke. We got the smoke cleared out, the bedding changed, and the animals bathed, but Spectre was closest to the point of combustion. As rainbows take in more water through their skin than most other reptiles it absorbed a fatal amount of toxins. Three weeks later he was gone.

It's hard to name a favorite among all of one's family, but if I had to choose, Spectre would have been number one. I'll miss him terribly.

The final picture, taken two days before his death:

**venus** · #2 10-31-2005, 12:48 PM

Awww, I am so sorry for your loss.

**mshrmheadcharge** · #3 10-31-2005, 12:49 PM

sorry for your loss

**esbat** · #4 10-31-2005, 01:02 PM

That's so sad, my condolences. You are very lucky that a fire never started, that's biggest fear here with all the lights.

**actionplant** · #5 10-31-2005, 01:33 PM

It's been a fear of mine as well. The burn area was pretty severe, it went down into the wood itself. Now we make it a common practice to do checks at night to make sure everything looks fine, as well as right away again the next morning. We really should have been doing that anyway, but part of the draw of having automation was to lessen maintenence time and increase the time we spend with the animals themselves. All part of the learning process, it just really hurts when it's at the expense of a family member.

**scottnsteph** · #6 10-31-2005, 03:24 PM

So sorry for your losss

**smallgrayfox** · #7 10-31-2005, 03:50 PM

I'm so sorry!

He was beautiful. Please know that I'm thinking of you in your time of loss. It particularly touches me because my daughter's corn snake is named Spectre. I didn't know anyone here had a snake with the same name.

I worry about that with the lights...sometimes I set them on the floor, and I've always been afraid I'll forget and leave one there with it still turned on... Once I did leave one on the edge of a bed, but I caught it before anything bad happened, thank goodness. It was on a thermostat and was off when I set it down, but when it clicked back on, it was still on the bed.

**kenman1963** · #8 10-31-2005, 04:21 PM

I'm so sorry to hear of your loss, god bless.

**actionplant** · #9 10-31-2005, 05:06 PM

Thanks guys. You know, sometimes you don't even know whatyou have until it's gone. Since then I've seen a lot of BRBs, but none that are as pretty in person as Spectre was. I suppose I'm probably a little biased, and while no animal is replaceable, I got so much enjoyment out of him I really can't imagine going too long without getting another. The real challenge is tracking down the original breeders and trying to get another from the same parents. Not as easy as one would think; the person I bought him from had bought him from someone else, and isn't even sure if that person is the original breeder. Time to start sleuthing.

Question...when some of you lose pets, how do you deal with it? It just seems wrong to throw him away, and yet I'm leasing my current place and can't very well bury him. How would you deal with it?

**Merlin** · #10 10-31-2005, 06:55 PM

I am sorry for your loss. Its a shame to lose such a beautiful creature.
I live in an apartment so I can relate to your problem. I would find a wooded area and bury him, deeply so that he is not dug up by scavaging animals.
In this way it would be returning him to the wild.
And then plants will grow and the cycle will begin again.


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