Hi,

Although most cases of cardiomyopathy seem to be of unknown cause, vitamin E deficiency has been involved in a few cases. You can have a look at this conference summary on ResearchGate:

https://www.researchgate.net/publication/16298636_Cardiomyopathy_in_a_kingsnake_%28Lampropeltis_calligaster_rhombomaculata%29

I strongly suggest that you send dead snakes for histopathology examination, as some causes (infectious diseases, vitamin E deficiency, etc.) induce quite characteristic lesions that could be identified under the microscope.

Marie-Odile

Article Cardiomyopathy in a kingsnake (Lampropeltis calligaster rhom...

Hello. 

 Thank you for the valuable information. We get the result of examination from a  dead snake and it was Pericarditis. confirmed symptoms were dropsy between heart and  pericardial sac, and the blood was thin. Is Pericarditis commonly caused in snakes?  It was resulted from non-specialist so we can not be sure. If you have any advice, please send it for me any time. 

Koo 

The mass occurrence of pericarditis points to an infection, either viral or bacterial. Even snakes exhibiting no clinical symptoms may be infected, see, for instance, the attached paper by Pees et al. (2010).

 Balázs Farkas

It could be caused by many reasons. Detecting the reason of the death, we need to see various angles. I will try to find the answer with your advice. Thank you so much! 

I agree with Balázs, pericarditis does indeed point to infection. However, macroscopically, gout could also be mistaken for pericarditis if the necropsy was performed by non-experienced personnel.

 Pericarditis in reptiles is associated in many cases with pulmonary disease.  There are reports on Ehrlichia as etiological agent of lung disease associated with pericarditis. 

 We got more information which the level of Leukocyte is normal. It probably means no infection by viral or bacterial. We are figuring out the cause of death to prevent additional problem. Thank you for all advises.