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 #2064034


KatiiB
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 ALL DEAD. MYSTERY. HELP.

I had a bad day in the reptile room today.
The entire top shelf of my reptiles, are all deceased.
The shelf contained a juvenile leopard gecko, a milk snake, and two corn snakes.
All were eating regularly, they did not have any respiratory issues, all were hydrated, and had water, good body weight, no physical vices. They were active and healthy. Temperatures were all bang on.
I had checked them last night, and all were alive and well. The only type of animal housed in that room are reptiles. (1 boa, 1 python, 14 leopard geckos, 19 corn snakes, and 2 bearded dragons.)
Then when i came home from errands, i went to feed my pets, and they were gone.
The one corn snake was new. Havnt even had her for 24 hours. I looked over her before i brought her home, and she was healthy.
Are there any viruses that can kill reptiles in 12 hours?
I am at a total loss here. I have no idea what could have happened.
Any suggestions would be more than welcome.

- Kait
08/27/09  03:32am

 #2065500


Peter54
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   Message To: KatiiB   In reference to Message Id: 2064034


 ALL DEAD. MYSTERY. HELP.

Sounds like they’ve been electricated or gased to death. No virus or bacteria kills that fast.

Have you got interior parts from fir trees - terpentine gas?
08/30/09  05:00pm

 #2066337


Concolor1
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   Message To: Peter54   In reference to Message Id: 2065500


 Good to Hear You Weigh In, Peter . . .

KatiiB also posted over on the corn snake forum about her loss, and I had some thoughts similar to yours. I can’t see any biological agent being responsible, and electrocution would require a "ground" for the current to travel through to kill a snake (moisture is one small possibility).

I even mentioned paint solvent as a possibility (turpentine has been used that way for centuries; no offense intended on correcting the spelling; I know English isn’t your native language, and you do just fine). Most of it comes from pine trees, rather than fir trees (I use fir bark as a substrate and have never had problems, but I reserve pine shavings strictly for raising mice).



09/01/09  04:09pm

 #2066602


Greatballzofire
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   Message To: KatiiB   In reference to Message Id: 2064034


 ALL DEAD. MYSTERY. HELP.

The temperatures on the top shelf may have spiked, then when you came home had dropped back to a safe level. Do you have a thermometer that records the highs and lows? Heat rises, so the top shelf would be the first to be impacted by high temperatures.
09/02/09  09:06am

 #2066745


Peter54
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   Message To: Concolor1   In reference to Message Id: 2066337


 Good to Hear You Weigh In, Peter . . .

concolor1
Haha, I’m not offended by your correction. I simply have no experience when it comes to tree terminology in english. The swedish language have a collective name for all trees/bushes carrying needles, such as pines, spruces and junipers (we have no fir trees). The hydrocarbon in these trees is called "terpentin" in swedish and I just had no idea that the second letter should be "u" in the english version.
09/02/09  03:51pm

 #2068753


Greatballzofire
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   Message To: KatiiB   In reference to Message Id: 2064034


 ALL DEAD. MYSTERY. HELP.

KatiiB,
So did you figure out what killed them?
09/07/09  09:50am

 #2100849


Snakebuz
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   Message To: Greatballzofire   In reference to Message Id: 2068753


 ALL DEAD. MYSTERY. HELP.

One guess would be sunlight streaming through the window, easily could have overheated just the top boxes it fell on, leaving the lower containers unaffected. That’d be my guess. I know of many times people letting the deli cup sit on the dash in their air conditioned car on the way home, and losing or nearly losing their new pets on the way home from a show. Were the containers under a window KatiiB?
12/02/09  04:16pm


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