My boyfriend has this snake, Deimos, since before he and I were dating, and since before he and I were ever friends.
We think the snake died last night, because his head is upside down, and he hasn't moved. And honestly, that's probably the case.
And it's my boyfriend's fault. He should have fed the snake more (but for the longest time money was really tight, and we couldn't afford to put food in OUR bellies, let alone the snake). The reason he hasn't, is because the pet shop he goes to only sells frozen mice, and he has to take the bus to and home...The bus takes about an hour, sometimes more, on top of the huge walks from the places to and from the bus stops.
So instead of feeding him, he just turned down the temperature in the snake's cage, hoping to send him into hibernation mode...And mostly its worked...The snake could go a long time between being fed, but I guess it can only work so long...And I feel awful, because I should have pestered him to go to the pet store more, than than just suggesting it once and a while when somehow the snake is brought up in conversation.
So, basically we both feel terrible about the snake...And I want to do something nice for him, but, I'm not sure what? I've only had a couple pets die on me...and I really don't deal with death well, and I'm not sure how my boyfriend is going to handle it all...I mean he left for work sounding like he was going to cry..It was in his voice, he sounded so sad.
And I feel just awful because I don't think there's anything I can do.

Anyway, reply or don't reply, I just needed to put down what I felt on "paper", I don't have any friends online on messengers right now, and I just needed to ramble it all out to someone, so you get stuck with it, mene.

how about, when money isnt as tight, buy a hamster. They're furry and cute and you buy bags of food at a time that last at leat a month maybe two.

Taking care of mammals is a little tougher than a snake in my experience. xD
Plus I have bad memories with a dead hamster. ;___;~ My poor hamham (the girl we hired to take care of our hamster while we were away for two weeks, forgot to put the fan on one day when it was really hot out, and she overheated and died, and once she realized the hamster was dead, she didn't tell us, and a week later when we got home, dead smelly hamster in my bedroom. .__________. I couldn't sleep in my room for three months, I slept on the couch downstairs.)

Hamsters can actually build up in cost, especially with all the wood chips and entertainment they need in order to stay healthy and active. If you start ignoring them for even a day, their cages can get horribly stinky and they'll make enough noise to wake an army. :yes:

If money is tight right now, and if you two are honestly ready for another pet, I'd recommend that you start very small. Hermit crabs can be fun little guys. All they need is a small habitat with rocks or plants of your choice, a bit of water, and some food daily. You'll have to bathe them once a week, but that only takes a couple of minutes. Hermit crabs are actually much friendlier than they same. If you interact with them daily, they'll respond to your touch and even come out of their shells in order to "talk" to you!

A small number of freshwater fish, like solitary goldfish or beta, might also be a good start. All you need is a bowl, a small filtration system, and one shaker of food will last you for weeks. They aren't as interactive, but fish can provide a lot of company in your house. Just make sure you don't dive in too deep and buy a ton at once - Fish can be very costly to keep, so it's just a matter of keeping it small.

Oh no, we're not getting another pet until after we move into a new place...If we move into a new place.

I've had fish, hamsters and cats before...I would like to have fish again (they're so cute)...But, I want tropical fish, and those are exspeeensiiiive so I won't be getting them any time soon, and cats a re nono because we're both allergic, though I love cats for how simple it is to take care of them.
Put a bowl out for food and water a couple times a day, change their litter every couple days. Give them a bath one a month, or less as needed.
XD;; Anyway. My point is, we're not getting another pet any time soon if I have something to say about it.

I'd say, instead of a pet, get a carnivorous plant. X)

Plants don't like me...they always die. :lol:

But thanks for the support guys. He was really upset when he got home from work, but we're burying the snake when he gets home tonight (He just wasn't quite ready to deal with it last night because the second he got in the door our roommate was being a cunt, and he didn't want to bury the snake angry.)

u'll get thru dis..i toddaly agree. takin care of pets is hard.

And I just realized it's all my fault.
I asked him to plug in my cellphone, and he unplugged the snake's heater, I guess thinking it was hte other cellphone charger. :(
But uhg, I should have gotten off my lazy ass and done it myself. :(
I feel so bad now. Bleh.

For future reference the hibernation thing does not work and actually can cause a ton of health problems such as hypothermia and respiratory infections and not feeding them properly can cause dehydration and metabolic bone disease. I ran low on money and had to rehome a lot of my pets because of that. I know how it goes when you're trying to feed yourself on pretty much no money.

I accidentally unplugged my anole's heat for the night back when I had them at my parents and ended up wiping out some of my colony because there was a cold snap and my mom keeps her heat so low that by the time I got cold enough to wake up most of them died already. That's the only draw back to having reptiles. I still to this day feel horrible about it.

All you can really do for him is be supportive. I wouldn't blame yourself. Things happen sometimes.

Yeah, I thought it wouldn't...But, it wasn't my snake and I don't know much about reptiles, so I didn't want to say anything to him. :(

Oh well, terrible as I feel, nothin' to do now. It's over, snakey is gone. :( Still feel bad though, I'll probably never be able to have those mountains of lizards I wanted, because I'll be afraid of them dying. (I loooove lizards, snakes not so much, they're cute, but I like stuff with 4 legs, much cuter.)

Keep in mind, there are a lot of reasons why the snake could have died. If you don't know for sure how it died, then don't blame yourselves.

Yeah I understand that feeling of him not doing enough. I have snake and snakes are easy creatures to kill believe it or not. Severe climate change (such that temperature drop) or not being fed enough are ways to weaken a snake. He shouldve gone to the store more or atleast look up that you should never mess with the temperature a snake is in. It can harm the snake. Yes they can go a while without eatting but doesn't make it healthy. So i agree. He shouldve taken better care of the snake.

Originally Posted by Cathsuru

Yeah I understand that feeling of him not doing enough. I have snake and snakes are easy creatures to kill believe it or not. Severe climate change (such that temperature drop) or not being fed enough are ways to weaken a snake. He shouldve gone to the store more or atleast look up that you should never mess with the temperature a snake is in. It can harm the snake. Yes they can go a while without eatting but doesn't make it healthy. So i agree. He shouldve taken better care of the snake.

He couldn't get to the store though, unless he begged a friend with a car to take him, and that was rare.

/shrugs.
I don't blame him really, it was an accident. :C

I have a lot of reptiles, I own several snakes, but my real passion is Geckos and I breed them.

Being tight on money myself, I have to say its a lot cheaper and easier to feed geckos then it is snakes.

What size tank did the snake live in?

And, my suggestion is, if you get on Craigslist, look for someone giving away or selling for cheap, their crested gecko. They are wonderful pets. They live 15 years or so. Very docile and easy to handle in most cases. And a bottle of Repashy crested gecko diet will usually run you about $7.00 and last you quite a long while. Just add water. Sometimes I feed them mushed up bananas, soft peaches, mango chunks. They are omnivorous so if you get a few pennies saved you can feed them crickets dusted with a little calcium.

Very easy to care for. Very cute. Low maintenance, an awesome pet.

That is if you decide to get a new pet. But when your struggling sometimes its best to not have to worry about pets.

If you lived on Long Island, I would give you some of mine, my straggler clutch just finished hatching leaving me with 22 geckos. :3

Anyway! I hope this helps! I'm so sorry for the loss of your boyfriend's snake. Dropping the temp can be risky. you usually don't have to drop it too low for them to not need to eat. Hybernation is a part of a snakes cycle and breeding cycle. Its usually safe if you do it during their cycles and for day and night. But the temp drop is typically marginal. Anyway~

I am really sorry for you and your boyfriends loss

Like I said, we're not interesting in getting another pet right now. :sweat: