Bizarre Experience - Lifeless Python

[BiteAndSqueeze]

Last night I had a bizarre experience with my python and I'm wondering if anyone has had the same experience or has any clues as to what occurred. I took my jungle python out of its enclosure. It is about 16 years old and about 8 feet long. I feed it around once a month with a jumbo rat. I always take it out of the enclosure and feed it in a old (large) eski. The rat is frozen but I completely thaw them and then put them in warm water to bring them to body temp before feeding. The snake had been in the eski about 1 hour with the rat (the same as for the past 16 years) while I cleaned the enclosure. When I opened the eski the rat was still there but my snake was utterly lifeless. I took the rat out and tried to pick up the snake and it was like a rag doll. It had no muscle movement at all and just flopped in my hands like it was a bag of sand. I thought for sure it was going to die. I decided to leave it in the eski overnight. I fully expected to find a dead snake with rigour mortis this morning but instead when I opened the eski his head popped up and he was back to normal. I have inspected him and he looks ok and is now back in his enclosure and looks normal. I don't know if snakes can pass out? Could he have constricted himself when he grabbed the rat and passed himself out? Do snakes have heart attacks? or strokes? Has anyone had an experience like this?

 

[saximus]

Stupid question - does the esky have air holes?

 

[BiteAndSqueeze]

No air holes as such but it has gaps. It is old and does not seal properly. My snakes have been in eskis overnight before with no problems.

 

[bluedragon]

No air holes as such but it has gaps. It is old and does not seal properly. My snakes have been in eskis overnight before with no problems.

thats probably why

 

[ronhalling]

that's probably why "WHAT" @bluedragon , that's a pretty sweeping statement what is why ???? no air holes, ???? has gaps ??? is old ???? does not seal ??? or because his snakes have been in esky's overnight before, please explain coz if i don't understand your post i am sure the OP doesn't either. ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°) -ronhalling-

 

[pythoninfinite]

Bluedragon, if it was "lifeless" after an hour in the esky, but was full of beans after a whole night in the esky, how do you come to the conclusion that the esky was the problem? Just asking...

Jamie

 

[bluedragon]

air holes

 

[BiteAndSqueeze]

not suffocation. as pythoninfinite said- lifeless after one hour, full of beans after a whole night. I'm still intrigued as to whether a python can constrict itself? maybe it latched onto the rat and its own body at the same time and ended up constricting itself to the point of passing out. I don't know if that is possible but I can only think of that or a medical incident like a stroke or something? Anyway I will keep and eye on it and make sue it is fully recovered.

 

[Stompsy]

Keep us posted!!

 

[Fall guys]

Is it possible that in between uses, the plastic of containers had “aged” idk what word to use.

But maybe there was a kind of gas that it inhaled and knocked it out?

 

[kittycat17]

I would also be concerned about some of the viruses around at the moment that cause neurological issues... this could lead to unresponsivness in some cases?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

 

[Foozil]

So, hows the snake now @BiteAndSqueeze?