It died after a week?

[Liccy]

Hi,

A friend of mine was given a baby diamond by her hubby.... and that was only a week ago.....i saw her yesterday - and it had died!

it was only about 20/30 cms long...and she hadnt fed it yet. it ate a lizard?? but then threw it up again...she let it outside for a while (i freaked...mine would run away) and it was basking in the sun next to its water bowl....she came back and it was in its water bowl, dead and there was no water left in the bowl....

it was never very active in the week that she had it....

did it cook in the sun?? was it already sick...??

i have told her to advise the breeder she got it from what happened....

any suggestions?

[AGAMIDAE]

Sorry to hear that....unfortunately I would say yes it did cook...as it was under the water bowl to try and get out of the heat, little snake can only take small amounts of sun heat, they dehydrate very easily, again very sorry to hear that but its all about learning and not making the same mistakes in the future, we have all made mistakes...it happens

Marc

[boa]

Yes it cooked, when I was young and inexperienced I had a similar thing happen, you do live and learn but it's a very hard lesson.

[Liccy]

yeah....she cried and went all emotional...she's trying for kids...and this really didnt help

"how can i expect to have kids if i cant even keep a snake"

[AGAMIDAE]

that is sad.....her parental insints would be alot greater than keeping a snake.......

[pike1]

well she wouldnt put a baby out in the sun and leave it would she, if the answers yes then she shouldnt have kids

[Bouncer]

Looking after a reptile is very much different to looking after a baby. Maternal instinct for a start. There's alot to learn about keeping reptiles and sadly, new herp owners make mistakes. As do new parents but there's so much more support for parents than there is for new herp owners. I feel quite sure that even the best herp breeders made the odd mistake or two in the beginning.
I think that remark was uncalled for pike.

[diamond_python]

Yes it did cook in the sun. I have made that mistake and the snake was only outside for 10-15 mins and not in direct sunlight.

you do live and learn but it's a very hard lesson.

Your right there Boa. I was so angry at what I did I was going to get out of reptiles all together but after a talk from a site member, I decided to stay and I am glad I did.

Liccy, tell your friend that we all make mistakes and the important thing is not to make the same mistake twice

[africancichlidau]

Oh yes The poor little bugger was cooked.

[Kenshin]

wonder if it had a proper set up if it was so inactive was she providing it with a hot spot ? was it in a small click clack container

[diamond_python]

Being a diamond it may have been stressed a little and hiding all week which explains why it wasn't active. My Diamond was like that for a while when it was a juvie.

[instar]

Thats a Shame! Pays to do your homework before you buy an animal, of any kind. very sad.
Probly tipped the water over, failed to find shade, or maybe a bird attacked it. I hope your freind will learn more about reptiles before gettin another. Please convey my condolences.

[junglemad]

Straight back on your bike and get another snake

[serpenttongue]

Liccy, was the skink offered live? It is possible that it died from the skink. Many hatchlings are clumsy at suffocating skinks and usually constrict the tail, not the body where the lungs are. This means they usually swallow the skink while it is still alive. Once swallowed, the skink kicks around inside the snakes gut and can do damage to the gut lining. This causes the snake to regurgitate the skink and both the snake and the skink die shortly after. I know of a keeper that fed live skinks to hatchling spotted pythons. The hatchlings just couldnt suffocate the skinks and swallowed them live.You could see the skink actually kicking around inside the snakes. They all regurgitated the skinks and within 20mins the hatchlings were dead. I'm not discrediting what the others have said, its just something to think about.

[Valley Reptile Supplies]

yes i think ppl were a bit quick to jump to conclusion serp i havea tendency to think there may have been a previous problem to the sun