# Question about ball pythons and drowning?



## uhblue (1 mo ago)

To start this off- This is my first post here. I created my account today to ask this question because I'm feeling very distressed as to why this happened to my ball python. Apologies if I do something incorrectly when it comes to posting/asking something here.

I found my adult ball python dead in his water dish this morning. He was completely fine the night before and had been acting normally when I went to bed. His water dish only had about an inch and a half of water in it and the dish was big enough for him to soak in, which he did often, but the water was not deep enough for him to swim in. He could rest comfortably on the bottom of the dish with his head tilted upward and his nose above the water.

I'm pretty sure he did not just die and happen to be in the water dish because when I found him this morning and picked him up I could not only feel the water in his body but a large amount of water was coming out of his mouth when I let his body and head hang downward. I've seen drowned animals before and this looked like a drowning to me.

I've had him for 5-6 years and he has never had any health problems while with me. I got him from a local breeder as an adult so it is possible that he was on the older side. Nothing has changed in his enclosure recently and his temperature gradient and humidity have not changed either. He has skipped eating for two weeks but that's normal for him. I offer food every week and he generally eats every 2-3 weeks, ignoring the food I offer between those times. 

Does anyone know what might've happened to him? I'm very concerned I might have missed something important and this is very distressing to me.
Is it possible he somehow got his head stuck beneath the rest of his body and drowned? I highly doubt that's what happened because of how often I've seen him soaking in the water dish but it seems like it may be a possible explanation?


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## Iekika. (2 mo ago)

A healthy royal python won't just drown, least so in an inch and a half of water. Something else was certainly at play in my opinion. It could have been the case that it started dying whilst in it's water dish, and perhaps inhaled some water whilst it was dying. 

I'm afraid to say it's almost impossible to know what caused it's death with a post-mortem examination. Snakes, like any other animal, can carry hidden ailments. Heart defects, organ problems, neuro issues can develop quite suddenly. Sorry for your loss.


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## LiasisUK (Sep 30, 2019)

As above, a healthy royal won't drown.


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## Malc (Oct 27, 2009)

Agree with the others...There must have been an underlying health issue and just happened to be over the water bowl at the time it succumbed.


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## uhblue (1 mo ago)

Alright, thank you for the replies. Like I mentioned, I bought him as an adult from a local breeder so I don't know his lineage or exact age. My family member suggested that it may have either been his age that caught up to him and/or internal health problems that I was not aware of. I'll be keeping a close eye on my other ball python for the time being in the event that it was something that could possibly spread and affect him as well. 

Also, do any of you know if it's possible he was affected by something like a stroke? I know that when my dog had a stroke she became very disoriented and weak, resulting in her being unable to stand or properly control her movements.

If my ball python was on the older side would it be possible that he had one and was unable to escape the water dish? Do strokes affect snakes in a similar way to other animals?


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## Malc (Oct 27, 2009)

uhblue said:


> Also, do any of you know if it's possible he was affected by something like a stroke?


Not being funny, but if we could tell if the snake suffered as stroke or similar just based on your description I think we would be participating in the lottery this weekend.... 

You have mentioned that you have no idea of the snakes age or history so it could be anything. It could be age, or (as mentioned) an underlying issue, or any number of possible causes such as a heart attack. The only way you would know would be if you witnessed the event or to pay a vet to perform a necropsy. Whilst that would give you a probable or certain cause of death it's not going to change the fact that the snake is dead and as you kept him for 6 years or more it's doubtful that the cause was a husbandry issue. 

If you lack the funds to do the examination, then I think you will just have to accept the fact that it died and was found in its water bowl and move on.


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## uhblue (1 mo ago)

Malc said:


> Not being funny, but if we could tell if the snake suffered as stroke or similar just based on your description I think we would be participating in the lottery this weekend....
> 
> You have mentioned that you have no idea of the snakes age or history so it could be anything. It could be age, or (as mentioned) an underlying issue, or any number of possible causes such as a heart attack. The only way you would know would be if you witnessed the event or to pay a vet to perform a necropsy. Whilst that would give you a probable or certain cause of death it's not going to change the fact that the snake is dead and as you kept him for 6 years or more it's doubtful that the cause was a husbandry issue.
> 
> If you lack the funds to do the examination, then I think you will just have to accept the fact that it died and was found in its water bowl and move on.


Apologies if I was unclear. I did not mean to ask for anyone to identify whether or not my snake specifically had suffered from a stroke. The question was meant to be asking if anyone knew whether or not a stroke could affect a snake in the same way it does mammals, such as dogs. I did do a quick google search but I didn't find much information on strokes in reptiles, therefore I asked here.

I realize it's highly unlikely I'll be able to determine exactly what caused my snake's death. I was curious as to whether or not a stroke, among several other things, could be a possible cause.


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## Malc (Oct 27, 2009)

uhblue said:


> Apologies if I was unclear. I did not mean to ask for anyone to identify whether or not my snake specifically had suffered from a stroke. The question was meant to be asking if anyone knew whether or not a stroke could affect a snake in the same way it does mammals, such as dogs.


A vet and possibly one who specialises in reptiles would probably be the only person really able to answer that question. As a layman, I would speculate it's possible as the snake has a network of blood vessels like any other animal or humans . At some point in its life it may have done something that could have caused a blood clot which ended up in its brain and caused what we define as a stroke.


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## uhblue (1 mo ago)

Alright. I suppose I've asked all I really can about him at this point.

Thank you again for the replies. I wish you well.


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## Malc (Oct 27, 2009)

uhblue said:


> I wish you well.


And the same to you. Sorry there's not much more we can add on this occasion


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