My snake....? =(?

Question

My baby ball python was really sweet and nice when I got him not too long ago. Then this morning I found he had died!!! His belly was green and extended, and he was biting himself in death. I think he was biting himself because he was in pain. He was so quiet and docile when I got him, that I thought maybe he was sick the whole time. What could it be?

Answer 1

He might not have eaten the mice because he was used to live food but it was more likely because he was sick. He probably was sick when you bought him from the store. Pet stores often don't take very good care of their animals. If you decide to get another snake I would recommend going to a store that specializes in reptiles.

Answer 2

He didn't like you.

Answer 3

The description you gave of its belly leads me to believe it died from its food rotting inside of it because of insufficient temperatures. If it doesn't have a basking spot of around 90 degrees, it will have difficulty digesting its food and the food will decay inside of it, poisoning the snake. This would explain the green stomach. Parasites and many other illnesses would not cause this. Usually they regurgitate right before death, but I have seen cases where they held the food down. I don't know of anything else that causes the green stomach.

A thermometer on the back side of the cage is not going to be exposed to the same temperature that the snake is. The thermometer is up closer to the heat lamp and will read a higher temperature than the snake, which is laying on the bottom of the cage, is feeling. The thermometer may have read 90 degrees, for example, but the snake was only feeling 85 degrees. I personally don't use regular thermometers. I use temp guns. You can point them at the snake or the bottom of the cage to feel the temps that the snake is actually feeling. I got mine from http://www.tempgun.com

Answer 4

If you can prove he was sick when you got he I'd advise getting a refund. Call the pet store you got him from and ask what the sickness is without telling them he died. That might give you more information. Sorry about your snake =(

Answer 5

Awe, maybe he was in pain, and was trying to make it stop, poor thing:( Sorry....

Answer 6

Go to the site below and post some question in the forum. If you have pics that's even better. Someone there can probably help you out with a cause. My guess is it was loaded with parasites...