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Originally posted by Spreebok

So sorry to hear about your loss. Sometimes, these things just happen, plenty of people have had seemingly healthy snakes that have just been found dead suddenly, sadly you were just unlucky enough ti witness it, which is never a nice thing.
Best thing to do is get the postmortem done, so you can have some closure at least. It could have been unavoidable for all you know, something wrong with the snake itself that was just waiting to go off.
Your friend gave you bad advice, and I question his care if he keeps different species together, but that's done now, you know not to pay attention to what he says from now on.

As has been said, don't panic about the gift snake. Like I said, it could have been something ticking away for all you know, and besides a few things to iron out, your care seems fine, and you genuinely care for your animals.

First off, get a thermostat and plug your mat into that. That will regulate your temperature for you, to ensure it stays constant and won't be too cold or over heat. You'll also need a digital thermometer, which you can get on ebay for about £2 - £3, and they work very well, but the temperature sensor has to remain on the mat, alongside the thermostat probe. I personally like to hotglue these in place. Some people pshaw and egt a bit up themselves when you mention thermostats, and I always find my respect drops for those people, especially if they're in a position where new keepers will come to them with questions and seeking advice. Such a simple but essential piece of kit, and these people are balancing on a knifes edge and it's their snakes lives on the line!

I've gone off topic, but I'm sure you get what I'm saying!
ALso, large/jumbo mice for adults corns are about the size you want to feed, my mind boggles as to how an adult could fit a large rat in, I fed a large adult I have a small rat once and he barely fit it in!

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Sadly, my temp sensor was always up in the air. Big mistake? It was usually indicating 22 to 26 C. I assumed it must have been a bit hotter right on the mat, where my snake would usually rest. Should the temp be always the same? And if I hot glue it, wouldn't it affect my snake? As for feeding pattern, as soon as I got him I changed it, could that contribute to his death? I switched from a big rat once a month to a small mice every 7-10 days. Sorry for all these questions, I'm getting a bit crazy here.

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Originally posted by Sta~ple

We all get bad advise, with reptiles though it may not look like we are doing wrong when we are as there instinct is to never show any weakness or illness. It could have been anything that killed him, something unpreventable like a heart attack, you just cannot beat yourself up about it. Only think you can do is lots of reading before you get a new guy.

Temp sensor in the air is a no with a mat, it should touch the mat. Hot glue gun wont effect your snake if you let it dry first, I don't hot glue gun mine though but I think I should probably! Feeding pattern wouldn't have killed him.

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Originally posted by Spreebok

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Sadly, my temp sensor was always up in the air. Big mistake? It was usually indicating 22 to 26 C. I assumed it must have been a bit hotter right on the mat, where my snake would usually rest. Should the temp be always the same? And if I hot glue it, wouldn't it affect my snake? As for feeding pattern, as soon as I got him I changed it, could that contribute to his death? I switched from a big rat once a month to a small mice every 7-10 days. Sorry for all these questions, I'm getting a bit crazy here.

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Yeah, temp sensor in the air is not the right thing for mats, they absorb the heat through their bellies, but if it was too hot, he would have likely stayed away from it. The hot end temp should always stay constant, during day and night, you'll find it fluctuates a little bit, but so long as it stays within 27 - 30 degrees, preferably at about 28degrees it'll be good.
Hotglue won't affect them, it's just a bit of plastic :)
Changing the feeding pattern wouldn't have affect him, if anything, previously being fed on such large food may have actually caused a bit of damage. You did the right thing moving him to the correct size.
I found a good food chart here: http://iansvivarium.com/viewtopic.php?f=20&t=75
According to it, a large rat is equivalent to a 1/2 pound rabbit :O The biggest rat I'd feed an adult is a weaner rat, same as a x-large mouse. The large rat is the third in from the right.
Haha, sorry to go on about the large rat, I'm just boggling that your friend thought that would FIT, let alone work as a staple diet. I do think you were sold a corn that was, well, a bit damaged. I'm glad to hear you'll be accepting the new one though :)

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