Reptiles Magazine Community / Community Forums / R.I.P.

american toads

reptilechick360 — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 17:47:21 GMT

i had 6 toads i had caught and named and had been having for a while, and since i was a inexperienced reptile keeper @ the time, i moved their vivarium into the sun. ya know how with a magnifying glass and sun you can burn a leaf or somethin? well, that's exactly what happened to Stan the Man, Bob, Lily, Aburn, Peter and Rocky Road. Well, Rocky was under a leaf, so he got a deep tan, but that was all. (i let Rocky Road go later that year, so that's why we no longer have him)

RIP Hermilina

herpsrule13 — Mon, 12 Oct 2009 18:43:39 GMT

my female newt now is swimming after my male squirmy...RIP both of you

R.I.P. Persephone

Chameleonman12 — Mon, 14 Sep 2009 18:28:38 GMT

about 4 weeks ago my trained leopard gecko died after months of sessions around 5 i trained her to stay she was always so good active and healthy we don,t know what happened but it was supposedly neurological

R.I.P. Slithers

DeerHunter908 — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 11:34:09 GMT

Well, my grandaddy found a 2 month old garter snake in his garage and asked me if I wanted her (He always called things a 'her'). I accepted, wanting to become a herpologist or herp vet, And he was going to kill her if I didn't. So I took her to my house, and little did I know, my husky, Taz, liked snakes. TO EAT!!! I was letting him sniff her when he bit my hand, causing my to drop her INTO HIS MOUTH! I am so ashamed, that moment I vowed never EVER to have a snake AND a dog again.....Thanks for reading.

I'm sorry

TimWall816 — Wed, 25 Mar 2009 12:16:50 GMT

One day, my step father and I where clearing away some weeds that had been growing in the vines on our house, as well as trimming, etc, to make the house look nicer. I was sweeping away leaves from the edge of the garden on our driveway, when I noticed something moving. After it emerged, I realized it was a snake.

I've always been fascinated by and interested in snakes, but this one was obviously wild and obviously hostile. I thought of all the possible things I could have done such as calling animal control, putting in another yard, or just leaving it alone. None of these options, however, seemed appropriate. There are young kids in my neighborhood who frequently play outside, and though this snake hardly seemed able to injure someone, it was something I didn't want to risk.

Me, being arrogant about common snake breeds, couldn't identify it. I couldn't tell if it was poisonous or not, or if it was large enough to hurt a small child.

So I killed it. I stampted it repeadely until it didn't move anymore.
I did not take pride or pleasure in the act of killing an innocent one of God's creatures, but instinct took over and I knew what I had to do for the complete saftey of my concious and of my family.

I still have not lived it down...

I know snakes are commonly misunderstood as predators, who only kill or attempt to kill everything around them. I know now that this is not true. I have wanted a snake for a long time, and it just so happened that a trip to Trader's Village led me to a breeder named Thomas (a very smart man that has written for REPTILE magazine once about breeding Honduran Milk Snakes), and after a long conversation with him and his friend (and fellow snake owner) Mark, I learned about breeds of snakes, how to care for them and feed them, and about the 4 poisonous breeds in the United States. So I bought one.

It might have been fate, it might have been chance, but I saw it as an opportunity for atonement. Owning and loving this snake from my heart doesn't make up for what I did, but it sets my conscious at ease. It is a mere feeble attempt at making up for the atrocity that was committed. But I have reached a small understanding about snakes, what they are, where they come from, and why they're misunderstood.

Writing this and knowing that at least one person will read it makes me feel better. My fear was caused by ignorance, and step by step that ignorance will be removed from my life.

Any encouraging words that someone thinks will make me feel one step closer to pure atonement are welcome.

Anyone destructive voices calling me a monster or an ignorant bastard are not.

Thank you for your time.

R.I.P. my best Crested Gecko

senior beaver — Tue, 22 Sep 2009 15:00:46 GMT

I have been seriously doing the reptile breeding thing since 2005, since then Crested Gecko's have been my favorite. I don't give them names so I don't become to attached. I have always bought top quality lizards & snakes from the begining. Out of all the reptiles I own (which is alot) I think I have excelled at cresteds the best. I keep my Cresteds in large plastic tubs with lids that clamp shut on the ends, They are on shelves so it is hard to see the top of the lower cages. Monday I woke up, went to check on the reptiles & look for new babies & Crested eggs (like every morning), smelled something wrong, looked & found my fovorite Crested hanging half in, half out of the tub dead. I fed them 2 nites before (like always) & he must of tried to get out & I closed the lid on him, my favorite reptile yet. If you have been to the reptile show in Harve de Grace, Md in the past 4 years you probably saw him & I'm sorry. You will not be forgotten, my favorite reptile. Jeff Hopkins (Hopkins Herps.)

RIP squirmy, fire belly newt

herpsrule13 — Mon, 21 Sep 2009 17:04:09 GMT

he died young, while shedding, and had trouble swimming

my pain can't be put into words...

Sammy

edward7834 — Tue, 08 Sep 2009 15:31:52 GMT

Yesterday I released Sammy back into the wild. No, he's not dead, but I no longer know his location or if he's ok. I pray he stays safe.

R.I.P Zeke

mustang445 — Mon, 06 Apr 2009 08:16:48 GMT

Ok today i was playing GH when my mom called and said that my plated lizard had died i totally freaked out and started crying i dont know why he died and just to make it worse my mom said that my sinolonen milk snake had escaped but he was okay

R.I.P Zeke

RIP, Andromeda and Verde

Enemy of a Venomous Anenome — Tue, 21 Jul 2009 13:12:36 GMT

You both didn't want to stay in your vivariums, and I sadly overlooked the hole in the lid.

I'm sorry I didn't find you in time.

rip bob

reptilelover176 — Mon, 06 Jul 2009 11:42:39 GMT

i was keeping a pet frog i found in my backyard and it died two days later.Commets of encouragement are welcome and people calling me a ****** are absoulotly not.Onc again sorry

R.I.P. Randall

randallsmommy — Fri, 17 Jul 2009 07:28:49 GMT

We love you little guy. We will miss you.

rip gump

Zoofew — Sun, 12 Jul 2009 17:33:51 GMT

gump old age i guess
i remember the panics i had with red leg i over panic mostly
good times

R.I.P. Puppy

fred60655 — Wed, 22 Jul 2009 14:23:08 GMT

We were driving in the car in the middle of nowhere and my dad hit a doggy and didnt even stop!!!!!! I just wanna say r.i.p.

RIPLouie

Phillies22 — Thu, 16 Jul 2009 19:59:13 GMT

Even though i won my green anole louie at a carnival he was a freind i trained him he could sit on my hand and not move or anything i know i only knew him for a while but he was my best freind i will miss him so much

rip jaws.

reptilelover176 — Mon, 06 Jul 2009 11:50:25 GMT

i think my gecko is dying and i cant afford a 300$ checkup right now.

"money is the root of all evil"- who knows

R.I.P. Swimmy

Animalgirl — Sun, 15 Feb 2009 08:15:18 GMT

My old tadpole Swimmy died a year ago while I was on vacation and he was fed before we left. When we came back I was surprised to see that he hadn't touched the food. But he had disendegrated and yellow goo was on the top of the tank and poor Swimmy was now a black skeleton. He was a year old bullfrog tadpole on a diet of goldfish pellets and did not yet have any legs. I tried feeding him algae once but he didn't touch it. I got him from a pet shop. It was their last day in buisness before it shut down so I got Swimmy for only a dollar. He lived in a fishbowl which is now Moonlight's. Okay, does anybody know what happened?

Max

anoleowner — Sat, 20 Jun 2009 09:20:42 GMT

My little brown skink max died. I only had him a month but i grew atatched to him. He got stuck behind a rock, and i think he couldn't breathe

Losing Petrie...

syzygytno1 — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 10:21:34 GMT

So I've finally come back on RC to tell everyone what happened. Little Petrie passed away this past Saturday night. It was the worst day of my life. I want to educate people on what happened so NO ONE will have to go through what we did. I know Petrie would want the same thing and she'd want all of her friends on RC to know. Petrie was extremely calcium deficient from laying so many eggs. (She laid 4) I knew she would be. I have my pet store on speed dial so I call them constantly when things happen. They told me to make sure she eats and gets enough calcium so I made sure that I had food in her cage at all times for her. But it wasn't enough. She wouldn't eat. Knowing her history of not eating for weeks, sometimes months at a time, I thought she'd eat when she was ready. Well, it was too late. Laying eggs takes so much out of a reptile I didn't even realize and no body told me. She ended up going into a comatose state and dying within hours or me taking her to the hospital. The thing with reptiles is they don't show any signs of distress until it's too late. Petrie was fine, hopping around and on my shoulder just hours earlier. The doctor said this was the most common reason that people take their reptiles in. My advice to everyone out there: if your reptile lays eggs and doesn't eat even 2 days afterwards, TAKE HER IN to have her get a dose of calcium or whatever it is she may need. Petrie had another 10 years with me (at least) so please if your reptile lays eggs, be AWARE and make sure they get enough of the calcium and the vitamins that they need. Please forward this on to everyone you know. RIP little girl. There will never be another dragon like you...

Faraday, |pine barrens tree frog|

opal — Thu, 25 Jun 2009 14:44:17 GMT

my pine barrens tree frog, Faraday, died.

he saw the foliage of the terrarium net to his and jumped for it. Hit the glass and got internal bleeding in his brain. lived for 6 more days then died in my hands.

rip camilla

habran — Thu, 25 Jun 2009 12:42:46 GMT

she was changing color difrent part of her body and got opperated and couldnt resist and died so sad.

Death of a geako

visor97 — Tue, 26 May 2009 16:58:18 GMT

On a Tuesday afternoon in March I got a little gecko named Nibbles. He liked his little cave alot. After a week I started to notice he was pooping alot and not eating. After a week of spending hours trying to feed him He went to a biologist to help us. He died that Thursday.
He had a mouth infection so he couldn't eat crickets; so he ate sand and got minor impaction and died of starvation.

Rest in Peace

Maximum — Fri, 12 Jun 2009 20:46:14 GMT

I am extremely saddened to report the loss of Moose, my beloved blue tongue skink.

Moose has had a very hard time. After vet trips and lots of care, he died on June 12.

Barely two months after I bought him, he developed a weird thing on the side of his mouth, I wasn't too concerned until it grew bigger and spread to his other side and something resembling mouth rot. He went to the vet. He was okay after that, his appetite and energy never receded. Then one of his eyes closed and got gunk all around it. He went to the vet. He then became very wild, hissing at me and trying to bite me, when he had been so docile before. After that, his skin on his feet stuck there. I tried very, very hard to get it off (he was very uncooperative and constantly tried to bite me, so that didn't help) I soaked him and tried to peel it off. He lost a few toes. So then I finally got it all off and treated his wounds. Then he stopped gaining weight. He went to the vet. I treated him and I really tried, but today I came up to feed him to find him motionless and cold. I am extremely upset, and really mad at myself for letting him slip away after I waited so long to have him.

Rest in Peace Moose. You will be missed.

2 Deaths

Grant — Wed, 17 Jun 2009 07:03:58 GMT

Last weekend I lost two of my reptiles.

My fire skink, Arson, and my long-tailed grass lizard, Guy, both passed on consecutive days. Arson always seemed to be healthy, except for a small eye problem, but he was wild caught, so... Guy seemed healthy too, but, again, was wildcaught...

I have decided I will not buy any wild caught reptiles until I become much more experienced. And I would really recommend, no matter how much you want it, not to get wild caught reptiles.

At least I have my red-eyed tree frogs and Hainan cave gecko on their way to cheer me up!

Prometheus R.I.P. 6/10/09

PROMETHEUS — Wed, 10 Jun 2009 10:27:35 GMT

Two days ago my favorite corn went in to "blue". Prometheus's history with sheds has been extremely problematic and stressful for this snake. Since I have owned the snake the first two attempts at shedding were very unsuccessful, Prometheus spent more than 12 hours trying in vain to shed, even with high humidity. All Prometheus could manage was bits and pieces scattered around the viv, and many other tattered bits and chinks still attached. So I started to use a shed box, an idea I got on another forum, at first I only would put the snake in for 30 min at a time and let it out for air. I talked with my vet and he suggested just put air holes in and leave the snake in all night. Shed 3 and 4 came alone and that is what I did, Prometheus managed to shed in and almost complete skin and only needed me to peel a small piece... ahhh success. But here comes the problem where it all went wrong, this had all taken place during the winter and I live in Saskatchewan Canada, a generally very cold winter climate, hence the viv heat bulb needed to be a 150 watt to keep it at proper temps for a 30 gallon long viv. Now we are in spring, but it has been an unusually cold spring with many nights below freezing, so I have not changed the bulb to a 75 watt yet. Apparently, it has warmed up enough that with making a plastic box, with air holes(many 40-60), water and shavings and putting a snake in it, in the viv with the 150 watt bulb did not make a shed box, but instead made a hot box and my Prometheus suffocated to death over night, while I peaceful slept beside. I post this for a few reasons: I need to talk because I feel so horrible-I feel as though I am a murderer, I wish to teach all of you out there who use shed boxes that yes they are great just be careful, because if no one has warned of the differences your homes ambient temperature can make in the viv, then you may make the same awful mistake I made, as well so that if there is someone who has a snake who needs help shedding and does not know of shed boxes then they can find out about them as they are far less stressful than forcing bathes (unless your snake likes bathes) or forcing a snake under running water (these are just ways I have heard some people try to help a snake finish a shed). Hopefully, if even one person learns something from this terrible event, then maybe Prometheus will not have died in vain!!

a different kind of loss

Reptilian85 — Fri, 16 Jan 2009 11:42:00 GMT

ok, so none of my pets died. HOWEVER, a few months ago i let my uncle take care of my 2 ball pythons because he wanted to do me the favor of watching them for me until i move into my new place in a couple months... come to find out by "my"(just the one i go to) pet store that he traded them to another pet store for RATS! i know rats are pets too... so i dont offend anyone, but they ate rats! and now 2 rats have taken their lives from me. how ironic. anyway, i went down to pick them up at that pet store....but the guy just sold them that morning! so, thats why this is a different kind of loss.

My SAND BOA DIED

the herptile master — Sun, 24 May 2009 08:31:28 GMT

I came to my dads this moring and gg my sand boa was out of the sand. Which was kinda weird. And then i saw that she was really dead.l I have been crying all day. She was only a year old. SDhe was constipated for the past month ad i tried everything i could to get her better. But nonthing worked. She died and now i am really sad. I feel terribal. Simply terribal.

canable snake

Jeff — Mon, 26 Jan 2009 16:05:07 GMT

I breed my ball pythons and I got six healhy babies.I have had them for a while and all was going good.Last night I went to check on them and I see one of them eating my favorite one.It was to late.It had already killed her.I had no idea ball pythons did that.

Troy passed away

trojangecko — Fri, 24 Apr 2009 10:43:55 GMT

Well, it has been a little over a week since Troy passed away. It looked like his liver failed. I think he had an infection, possibly mouth rot. I am sad and angry. I feel like an idiot.

I will miss Troy.

Ricky

anoleowner — Sun, 01 Mar 2009 11:40:37 GMT

My first lizard died today. His name was ricky and his mate died not to long ago. I believe animals feel the basic emotions of fear, happiness and grief. After his mate died he stopped eating he's with her now though in a better place. I know this.

morning

dansexotics — Fri, 17 Apr 2009 05:42:42 GMT

i just had a beautiful atb female pass on i miss her she was great. but before passing on she left me with 4 beautiful babies 3 halloween phase and 1 orange/yellow phase atb. all are doing great and 1 is already in a good home.

"united we stand united we fight!!!"

What????????

mustang445 — Thu, 16 Apr 2009 13:00:24 GMT

My Sullamans island ground boa died i don't know why he moved around and he was nice and thick for a baby does any body know what kind of disease makes a snakes eyes and stuff in there head just vanish after like a day because that's what happened with him PLEASE respond

Junie

lizardluver213 — Mon, 06 Apr 2009 16:25:36 GMT

I don't know why she died the temp in the tank was perfect. i washed my hands before and after i touched her.She just all of a sudden died. it was the saddest thing EVER!she stopped eating so we took her to a Guy who knew all about bearded dragons and then she ate for Him but we did the same thing he told us to do and i don't know what happened. :-((

Rest In Peace, Eco

MilesReptiles — Fri, 20 Mar 2009 16:19:53 GMT

I miss you

Rest In Peace, Valkyrie

demonicchild — Mon, 16 Mar 2009 11:54:11 GMT

My first snake, Valkyrie (Val-ker-eye, meaning death angel) passed away because of petstore cruelty. I will never forget her. She was the sweetest, most beatiful snake in the world. I cried so much after her death because I know it could have been prevented if someone had just taken the time to care about the snake. I hope I showed her there is someone out there who loved her in the short time she was with me. I'm crying now... Here is my beautiful baby...

Anole

mustang445 — Mon, 16 Mar 2009 14:20:58 GMT

me and my friends where out catching anoles i saw a really big one he crawled under this big thing that my dad uses to lift the front wheels of the car up so i picked it up but then it slipped from my hand and then it crushed the anole me and my friends felt SO bad so me and my friends prayed and buried him in my yard we buried him with a note that said we r sorry and when he died after that i waited for that big Oak tree in my yard to just fall and crush me but we went inside and played our favorite game on the PS2 i'm still sad though

R.I.P. Jack

jacksmom — Sat, 14 Mar 2009 07:45:04 GMT

Two days ago my beloved iguana, Jack, died at the age of nineteen. My husband bought him for me as a hatchling in 1989. Throughout his life I made sure I had the most recent information on his care and feeding. (I still have the August 1997 Inguana Issue of Reptiles Mag.) Jack was a constant source of interest and sometimes even amusement. When he was about 3 years old (I think that's teenager in iguana years) he became enemies with a bottle Windex while I was cleaning windows. He puffed himseld up, bobbed his head almost continously and strutted around the bottle 3 or 4 times. So as not to become a target of aggression myself if I tried to pick up the Windex, I put a pillowcase over Jack and whisked the bottle away to safety. I'm sure he thought, "I showed that bottle", when he discovered it was gone! But iguanas, like people and other animals mellow as the get older. I think he eventually decided that the Windex wasn't his enemy after all. And although he was quite the little trouble maker as a juvenile, he became much more docile and even-tempered as he aged. He liked to have his back scratched and to sit in my bedroom and look out the front window except when the occasional school bus would go by. Then he would run and hide under the dresser. For nearly twenty years my family and I enjoyed his presence.

So be at peace my little green friend. I will always miss you

Spike is going to be okay!

TMac — Sat, 10 Jan 2009 11:05:05 GMT

I found out Spike is going to be okay! I know this is a R.I.P thread, but it was the thought of losing him.

Leopard gecko

Animalgirl — Wed, 28 Jan 2009 08:30:54 GMT

I used to have two leopard geckoes, Spotty and Dotty. It was about a week I had them before I noticed something was wrong with Dotty. and I did some research on her symptoms and found that it was cryptosporidiosis. It is an internal parasite caught by another gecko or a bad cricket. It is the only uncurable parasite. Dotty died from it because there was nothing we could do, she was in such bad shape. After she died, I did everything to save Spotty. I gave him pepto-bismol and put moss in his hiding area and gave him calcium powder and water by hand. He refused to eat. Cryptosporidiosis either comes out naturally or never comes out. But Spotty was lucky because his came out naturally. He began eating. Hooray Spotty! I will remember Dotty forever because they were very close gecko friends.

r.i.p beast

Zoofew — Thu, 12 Feb 2009 13:13:14 GMT

what am i doing wrong this morning i gave him some freeze dried bloodworms and when i came back from school he was floating on the top!