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Posted by epiphyte1 on January 22, 2003 at 20:50:53:
In Reply to: Possibly some insight to your situation posted by Tribal Prop on January 22, 2003 at 17:12:57:
.... All of the snakes that died did have one thing in common, they all had a bluish black spot that developed mid body (could be seen under the skin at the stomach area).... rest are now dead! They all coincidentally had this bluish/black spot present...
If I understand your description of the location of the bluish spot as being visible through the ventral scales in the mid-section, than I will almost guarantee that this is bile leaking out of the gall bladder. One of the first signs of decomposition in snakes (and other reptiles) is the presence of a dark bluish/blackish/greenish spot visible on the ventral surface, even before the snake begins to have any noticable smell. If you or your vet performs a necropsy on the snake, you will see that the area around the gall bladder is stained with leaking bile, which is absorbed into all the surrounding tissues, making it eventually visible through the underside. Even though the bile is normally a dark greenish color, the stain usually appears darker green to bluish to brown and even black when viewed externally through the skin. You seem to mention that this dot was only present in the dead radiata that you have observed, but have not noticed it in other dead snakes. If we are talking about the same thing, all snakes will show this mark as a first sign of decompostion, and perhaps you either found your other dead snakes early, or it just wasn't noticed, especially in snakes with dark ventral pigmentation.
Adam
