Naga_Kanya
Active Member
I just checked in on the light of my life, my beautiful little gold Tree Snake, and found him in his very last moments. His mouth was agape and he was completely limp. This immediately suggested overheating or choking to me, so I put him in a container of water at 26 degrees to cool him down very slowly, and watched him for any response. Nothing, just limp with his mouth gaping, no visible breathing at all. I had a look down his little windpipe with a torch, and felt gently along his neck/body, and couldn't find any signs of blockage. While this was happening my partner grabbed a thermometer to gauge the temp in his enclosure (in case of thermostat failure), but his enclosure was the upper end of his comfort level at 30 degrees; it's been a warm-ish day so this is a fairly normal fluctuation. His skin seemed to have a poor pinch response and looked dehydrated - but he was lying right next to his full water dish which had been refilled yesterday with clean, fresh water. He started going into rigor not long after.
He was fine yesterday - he was hunting through his water looking for fish, and I was admiring him. He looked perky and completely normal. He was due to be fed (fed 4 days previously, with fish from my usual supplier, which is also a reptile place so they know not to sell treated ones). He was a *very* difficult feeder when I got him, but patience had got him to the point where I could tip a fish into his bowl and he'd come out and pick it up before the net was even out of the tank. He had a diet of mostly platys (I wanted to feed him trout, but hadn't managed to get a good set-up to keep fingerlings yet), and was in good condition - not fat, not thin. His last week of feeding was completely normal, as the last few months have been.
He had a temperature range of 26-32 degrees in his tank, two hides in the warm and cool halves respectively, lots of stuff to climb on, and an x-large Exo Terra bowl for his water that he could completely immerse himself in if he bothered. I have had him for just over a year, and he was a wild-caught NT specimen; a young male, about 3yo at time of death.
He looks as though he might possibly have had a slight blockage towards his tail end - nothing like the photos I've seen of serious impaction/constipation, but definitely something there, for about 3cm. Gentle manipulation saw it move reasonably easily, so it wasn't a hard lump. His substrate was Breeder's Choice cat litter; I've never once seen him swallow any as he generally ate his fish where he caught them in the bowl, or he'd carry his prize to his big plastic fern for privacy and eat it up there.
I remember reading that this species is prone to sudden unexplained deaths, but if any of the more experienced keepers on the forum could shed some light, I'd be grateful. I loved this little fellow so, so much, and would very much like to continue keeping them, and I want to know if I did anything at all to cause his death, so I don't do it next time. I'm absolutely heartbroken.
I'm also considering getting a necropsy, but I have no idea where to send him, or how much it will cost. Can anyone recommend somewhere in Melbourne area (I'm in the Dandenongs area, but will travel if need be) to get this done? Thanks in advance for anything you can offer.
He was fine yesterday - he was hunting through his water looking for fish, and I was admiring him. He looked perky and completely normal. He was due to be fed (fed 4 days previously, with fish from my usual supplier, which is also a reptile place so they know not to sell treated ones). He was a *very* difficult feeder when I got him, but patience had got him to the point where I could tip a fish into his bowl and he'd come out and pick it up before the net was even out of the tank. He had a diet of mostly platys (I wanted to feed him trout, but hadn't managed to get a good set-up to keep fingerlings yet), and was in good condition - not fat, not thin. His last week of feeding was completely normal, as the last few months have been.
He had a temperature range of 26-32 degrees in his tank, two hides in the warm and cool halves respectively, lots of stuff to climb on, and an x-large Exo Terra bowl for his water that he could completely immerse himself in if he bothered. I have had him for just over a year, and he was a wild-caught NT specimen; a young male, about 3yo at time of death.
He looks as though he might possibly have had a slight blockage towards his tail end - nothing like the photos I've seen of serious impaction/constipation, but definitely something there, for about 3cm. Gentle manipulation saw it move reasonably easily, so it wasn't a hard lump. His substrate was Breeder's Choice cat litter; I've never once seen him swallow any as he generally ate his fish where he caught them in the bowl, or he'd carry his prize to his big plastic fern for privacy and eat it up there.
I remember reading that this species is prone to sudden unexplained deaths, but if any of the more experienced keepers on the forum could shed some light, I'd be grateful. I loved this little fellow so, so much, and would very much like to continue keeping them, and I want to know if I did anything at all to cause his death, so I don't do it next time. I'm absolutely heartbroken.
I'm also considering getting a necropsy, but I have no idea where to send him, or how much it will cost. Can anyone recommend somewhere in Melbourne area (I'm in the Dandenongs area, but will travel if need be) to get this done? Thanks in advance for anything you can offer.
