Why did all my pets pass away this week?

Animals Forum
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This week has been awful. I lost three pets, all in different rooms, and I have no idea what caused it. It feels like it can’t just be random, but I don’t know what I’m doing wrong. If anyone has ideas or advice, I’d appreciate it. I’ll share the details about each pet to see if there’s a connection or just bad luck.

Turtle: I’ve had him since he was a baby, over 10 years ago. A few days before he passed, he stopped basking. The day before, he was less active than usual, but nothing alarming. On his last day, he seemed weak and swollen, barely eating. I moved him to a temporary setup with a slightly warmer temperature. I stayed with him for 10 hours, changing the water and keeping him warm as per my vet’s advice over the phone. He had a seizure and went limp shortly after. My vet thinks it might’ve been an infection or liver failure that had been building up for a while.

Corn Snake: She had issues eating during her first month with me, regurgitating twice. After consulting the vet, I got her to eat small meals, but she never had much of an appetite. I made adjustments to her setup and diet, and things were stable for months. About two weeks ago, she regurgitated again. The vet recommended waiting 14 days before trying to feed her again. She looked fine a few days ago—skinny but not unhealthy. Today, I smelled that distinct regurgitation odor and found her dead. People in the forum think it might’ve been liver or kidney issues.

Scorpion: This is happening now as I write this. One of my scorpions is barely moving. I increased the humidity in its enclosure and placed it near its water dish, thinking it might be dehydrated or preparing to molt. I even added a roach in case it was hungry, but it’s moving less and looks worse by the minute.

These animals were all different species and kept in separate rooms. I’ve kept animals for over 10 years and haven’t had major issues in the last five. Losing all three in such a short time is devastating. I feel like I haven’t even had time to grieve properly. Any help or insight would mean a lot. :broken_heart:

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If you want better advice, you’ll need to share more details about their setups. From what you’ve described, it sounds like your vet has more insight than anyone here. Sometimes, when you keep multiple animals, situations like this happen. The more pets you have, the more likely it is to experience losses—and unfortunately, they can happen close together.

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Are you sure nothing environmental is going on, like chemicals in the air or water? It’s strange that this happened to three completely different animals. Maybe test the water if they all use the same source.

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@Tyler
Good point about the water. I use tap water, but I dechlorinate it. I’ll test it to be sure, though. Thanks for suggesting that.

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It might not be related, but could there have been any sudden changes in your home—like pest control treatments or cleaning products?

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Keenan said:
It might not be related, but could there have been any sudden changes in your home—like pest control treatments or cleaning products?

I haven’t used anything unusual recently, but I’ll double-check just in case. It’s worth looking into. Thanks for bringing it up.

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I’m so sorry for your loss. I’ve had bad weeks like this too, and it’s so heartbreaking. For the turtle and snake, it sounds like they might’ve had underlying health issues that were hard to spot. The scorpion situation might be unrelated, but dehydration could be a factor. Keep an eye on the humidity levels.