Re: Sad story and a warning to all bringing animals up..

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Posted by Paul Hollander on February 26, 2002 at 13:46:39:

In Reply to: Sad story and a warning to all bringing animals up.. posted by jeff on February 24, 2002 at 20:44:39:

: I have to admit, I had been bummed that I couldnt find a yearling Glades rat that got loose early last fall but thought she'd eventually show up. Yesterday, about 5-6 months after the fact, I found her by stepping on her in the dark but she seemed OK. Now she had been living without food and water for all that time in a house that the thermostat is set on 55 degrees!! I immediately set her up in a shoebox with a water bowl in my snake room (at 70)_and she was dead in the box the next morning. I really think that bringing her up too quickly caused a serious dehydration problem, has anyone else heard of this?? I always read about bringing them up slowly but nowhere have I read about the results of it. Any help??J

Hard luck! 8-(

I've rapidly brought a number of garter snakes and bullsnakes from 55 F to seventy without any problems. Never kept any Glades rats, but they should be able to take it, too.

Stepping on the snake may have broken its back or broken some ribs that punctured a lung or something else important. Only a necropsy by a vet or somebody experienced could tell for sure.

I'd say that the months of no food and little (if any) water caused the dehydration problem. I've seen a few snakes that were in poor shape due to prolonged nonfeeding die apparantly simply from the stress of being handled.

So my guesses as to cause of death are first, injury, and second, shock of recapture aggrivated by poor physical condition. Or possibly all of these. My $.02.

Paul Hollander

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Re: Sad story and a warning to all bringing animals up.. patricia 02/28/02 (0)

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: : I have to admit, I had been bummed that I couldnt find a yearling Glades rat that got loose early last fall but thought she'd eventually show up. Yesterday, about 5-6 months after the fact, I found her by stepping on her in the dark but she seemed OK. Now she had been living without food and water for all that time in a house that the thermostat is set on 55 degrees!! I immediately set her up in a shoebox with a water bowl in my snake room (at 70)_and she was dead in the box the next morning. I really think that bringing her up too quickly caused a serious dehydration problem, has anyone else heard of this?? I always read about bringing them up slowly but nowhere have I read about the results of it. Any help??J : Hard luck! 8-( : I've rapidly brought a number of garter snakes and bullsnakes from 55 F to seventy without any problems. Never kept any Glades rats, but they should be able to take it, too. : Stepping on the snake may have broken its back or broken some ribs that punctured a lung or something else important. Only a necropsy by a vet or somebody experienced could tell for sure. : I'd say that the months of no food and little (if any) water caused the dehydration problem. I've seen a few snakes that were in poor shape due to prolonged nonfeeding die apparantly simply from the stress of being handled. : So my guesses as to cause of death are first, injury, and second, shock of recapture aggrivated by poor physical condition. Or possibly all of these. My $.02. : Paul Hollander

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