Cause of Cornsnake death.

Question
I've been searching for a reason why my snake died. I noticed a few days ago she was looking kind of pale, my brother noted that her jaw looked a bit odd, and I don't have a great deal of experience so i thought she was going to shed, well, today when I returned from school I found her dead and still very limp so i don't think she was dead for long. I don't know what I did wrong and have spent the whole day trying to find and answer. If you can help, I would be very thankful.

Answer
it could be any number of things. just looking pale doesn't suggest that there's anything wrong with her. without a lot of detailed information its hard to give a definite answer. i will however offer some of the most likely possibilities and causes for deaths in snakes.

the most common cause of a snakes death is incorrect temperatures. the temp in the tank should be about 82-84F in the centre. below or above this denatures the snake's enzymes and it cannot digest food properly among other things.

parasites are the next most common cause of death. these can be internal or external. internal parasites are much more difficult to spot than external, i guess thats obvious. mites and ticks are the external kind of parasites. mites look like small peppery flecks on your snake. they usually group around the mouth and nose and also in the gaps between scales. to check for internal parasites you need to look at your snakes faeces for the presence of any parasites.

stress is another common cause of death. this can be due to overhandling - usually with babies - or lots of movements, noise etc infront of or near the snakes cage, being paired with another snake much larger. stress can be caused by quite a few things. although usually stress alone does not kill the snake, it is usually coupled with anorexia.

Alot of the time it seems there is no cause, and it is impossible to tell, im sorry for your loss and i hope this helps.

Thanks for your question,

Andy