08/25/2024
Absolutely devastated and at a loss for words.
I've always appreciated other breeders/keepers being open and talking about vet related situations in their collections and being open about health struggles. I want to hold myself to that standard, too.
It isn't perfect and sometimes there's more setbacks or delays than there is progress
Spectre, my younger male white lip, passed this morning.
He was originally a wild caught snake, as a hatchling. There is risk and controversy that comes with any wild caught animal, especially a more sensitive species. I'm not here to debate that.
For the two years I had him he was a perfect animal. Great eater, great for handling, beautiful, always out and basking comfortably and openly or watching from a log. If I could go back and do it again with my knowledge I would, even if I did a couple things differently I would have still gotten him. I couldn't ask for a better personality in a white lip python.
He had a cute white freckle in front of his eyes as well as behind him. I always told him apart from others in pictures that way.
Recently he had a change in appetite which was very out of character for him, and regurgitated thrice (with the standard 2 week waiting period inbetween).
After triple checking temperatures, humidity, and prey size and no success the vet confirmed internal parasites and we began the process to treat him. Weight and body condition were good initially, but he went downhill very quickly just the last couple days even with professional guidance.
I feel like I've failed him.
He wasn't just inventory or a number to me. He was my pet, my baby, my pride and joy.
I should've could've would've everything.
From a half shed baby noodle coming out of the shipping bag to looking just as beautiful in death as he always has. The last two years were an honor to be his keeper. I'm gutted that he's gone and the hole he leaves is unexplainable. It doesn't feel real and his enclosure will sit empty for a long, long time. That's *spectre's* home, and I don't know when it'll feel right to move someone else into it after lots of disinfecting.
Every rainbow I see will have a little piece of him in it
