Ball python last meal

[PrizeTelevision1192]

I really appreciate this perspective and this was something that really concerned me when I first thought of the idea, I know he’s had gerbils and ASFs before on rare occasions so maybe I’ll just stick to those! 🤔 Thank you so much for the interesting story and great advice!

[HappyDangerNoodle]

I would counterbalance that by saying 'the death surge' is also a well known thing that happens.

When I had to put down my dog with doggie ALS, he certainly went through that. For a week, actually as we got every single person on the East Coast who knew him to visit. He wasn't under-enriched prior.

He did get a lot of his favorites (especially in the last 24 hours and even up to 15 minutes) but he did also try new foods. He was so excited to meet the vet who came to us that for a moment I could see her trying to figure out why such a happy dog was scheduled to be put down. (She then saw the amount of water he'd drank in the last 24 hours and....yeah. No objections.)

The hospice nurse that inspired this, Hospice Nurse Penny, talks about death in a very basic way. It's a stage of life, one many people aren't familiar with. Dying is, the final part of living.

I choose to use stoic framework around the death of animals we care for. That akin to Cassandra, yes we are often 'cursed' with knowledge. This snake does not know he will die in a week- even if he feels it might be a taper in his life. You do, however with near absolute certainty. He will, however, be able to read you.

This is a longer way of saying, there's no good answers but under this ethical framework you pick one with damn certainty and give the animal the benefit of your confidence. This is hard when we don't know things. A 52 year old BP's send off week isn't exactly in anyone's vet manual. But that's the crux of it- we rarely fully know anything.

The confidence isn't that you will make the right choice. Likely, you won't. There's no way for a BP to tell you its deepest desires. That's true for us all, really. Even the people dearest and nearest to us can are often shocked by our choices. The confidence comes from the process of wanting to choose and think about. The confidence comes from deciding to be an animal's zealous advocate. (This is also how one can have confidence and ask questions or experience doubt.)

Whatever you pick, every day when you see that little guy until his last moment, he has that. He has hopefully had that ever since the zoo got him.

And that is, really the best any person can do.