Let's try to let go of the immediate knee jerk reaction for a minute.......
Most of us go to reptile shops to buy food, bedding, reptiles and many other things.
Many of us attend reptile shows, local reptile meetings and visit each others houses to see or help out with reptiles.
Some of us quarantine any new reptile for around 3 months and ensure we use separate equipment and cleaning items for any reptile in quarantine. Some of us go so far as to ensure we undertake maintenance of quarantined animals on different days to the rest of our collection.
Some of us ensure we are not wearing the same clothes when we deal with our quarantined reptiles.
Most of us do not have Crypto in our collections, and take as many precations as we can to ensure that if we are unfortunate to pick up an animal with Crypto, we have done everything we can to prevent it from transferring to our main collection.
Does Crypto exist ? Yes.
Can it wipe out entire collections ? Yes it could.
How likely is it to happen if we take suitable precautions ? Not very likely.
Are we going to wrap ourselves and our reptiles up in a bubble to prevent any chance of coming across Crypto ? Actually, for most of us, that would take away much of the enjoyment we get from keeping our animals….. however, it is a personal decision that we can only make ourselves.
Below I have copied a number of different comments from people on how they feel about Crypto, and at the bottom of the page I have copied something from two vets. I hope it helps you make up your mind about your own actions….
**************
Procedure I normally follow:
Separate room
Separate feeding and cleaning equipment
Shower between established and new snakes on same day
Six month minimum separation
However, when I got my boa’s from a reputable dealer, I was decorating the room that I usually use as a quarantine room and couldn't put then in there due to gloss paint fumes. I kept them, with the intention of moving them a few days later, with the rest of my snakes. I then forgot to move them. They were perfectly fine.
I'm not suggesting you do this, merely saying that for the majority of the time a new snake will show no need for caution within the six months that we generally separate.
***************
If you are quarantining for IBD, crypto etc then you can quarantine for 4 years and still be none the wiser. 3 months / 6 months quarantine is like sticking a plaster on a haemorrhage. Also unless you are following strict biological controls, which you won't be, then its more or less a complete waste of time anyway.
Basic hygine, common sense, and making sure its mite free are really all you can do other than hope. Most really nasty stuff, as far as we know, needs some sort of direct transfer from host to host, fluids, faecal matter etc.
People quarantine because they think they should, and because it makes them feel better, but in reality most people’s quarantine is actually about as effective as praying.
****************
For me, quarantine is more about observation than separation. It's an equal priority
to spot any issues with a new snake as it is to prevent my existing ones being introduced to anything.
New animals do not come into contact with exisitng ones to the best of my ability - which means I do not handle exisiting snakes if I have recently handled a new arrival, and certainly not without washing my hands before and after, regardless. Sharing of equipment is severely restricted, but they are mostly housed in the same room, and observed vigilantly. Snakes that I've had for a long time are equally inspected more
thoroughly during this first month particularly. The focus for me is observing my new arrivals behaviour / activity and appearance very closely, for peace of mind. Is it as effective as it could be? Probably not, but it makes me feel better, and it's certainly better than just adding snakes to the existing enviroment and not giving it a second thought.
The best approach to quarantine is common sense - as someone quite rightly said, you could quarantine a snake for a full year, and find out a week later that it is
positive for IBD.
*****************
Vet who also breeds reptiles
We quarantine for 3 months. We really only have corns and rats so IBD is low on the
list of things that we worry about, so 3 months is adequate to assess general health of the snake and to allow any mite infestations to raise their ugly head.
We then bulk faecal test them, including a crypto ELISA, before putting them into the main collection. We try and quarantine snakes from different source separately but that is not always possible!
Even crypto ELISA doesn't mean we will pick up carriers, but at least we are trying, and god forbid any come back positive, at least we know the main collection is free.
And yes, we do try and maintain biosecurity as much as possible - if we can the snakes are in a different building, and one of us cares for the Q animals and the other the main collection for the entire 3 months. Again not always possible but we try.
******************
Vet who put information up on internet
Many reptile keepers dread to hear the word ‘Crypto’ and for good reason, as this is
a parasite which can have devastating consequences and wipe out entire collections of reptiles in severe cases. Cryptosporidium infections are found in a wide variety of reptile species, and can cause severe debilitation and death in many, whilst being a commensal or harmless gut organism in others.
The parasite is a protozoan single celled organism with a direct life cycle meaning the host becomes reinfected very quickly with the next generation of eggs contained in faecal material. The importance of this life cycle mode is that infection can spread very rapidly throughout reptile collections unless very strict hygiene and disinfection protocols are put in place. Because some animals may be subclinical carriers with no visible symptoms, by the time an animal is identified as infected the organism may have spread to many others in a collection. Infection can be mild and only cause short term diarrhoea or can lead to severe chronic diarrhoea, wasting, anorexia, failure to thrive and even death. Other signs of disease sometimes occur such as inner ear infections,
reproductive failures and secondary infections such as stomatitis associated with immune debilitation. Cryptosporidia species infecting reptiles are not thought to be transmissible to humans, although we have two species that cause severe gastrointestinal illness of our own.
The first difficulty in treating this infection is that it is difficult to diagnose.
Quite often it is impossible to detect on routine faecal analysis even with specialised staining techniques, hence the prefix ‘crypto-’ meaning ‘hidden’. Many infected animals turn up negative on faecal tests as the parasite is an intermittent shedder, and can also exist in low numbers in the intestinal lining making it extremely easy to stay undetected. The other tests involve a PCR or ELISA test which detect the parasite DNA and are more sensitive but again this relies on the organism showing up in the sample to be tested. The only certain way to diagnose the parasite is on post mortem microscopic examination of sections of gut lining. The second reason it is problematic is that there are no treatments that are 100% reliable or effective. In fact, most reptiles that are showing clinical signs of cryptosporidiosis are already too debilitated to
survive, and the treatments themselves may actually do more harm than good.
Various treatments have been trialled including various classes of antibiotics,
anti-parasitic drugs and even concentrated bovine serum preparations with limited success rates. In some cases, and specifically in large collections it may be necessary to humanely euthanase infected individuals as their prognosis is so poor, in order to safeguard the remaining non-infected animals. Identifying infected versus non-infected individuals can however be challenging.
For these reasons, it is vital that proper quarantine and isolation is carried out on new reptiles when adding to an existing collection. Strict hygiene practices that limit the spread of faecal contamination from one vivarium to the next will limit spread of infection. Particular caution must be taken with any wild-caught individuals, reptiles that are failing to thrive, or repeatedly refuse or regurgitate food, the latter being a common sign of infection in snakes. Leopard geckoes seem to be particularly vulnerable, although it is debatable whether this is due to genuine species susceptibility or due to the tendency towards large, intensive style husbandry conditions with many animals kept in close proximity at breeding facilities. Indeed, the biggest problems with
Cryptosporidiosis in reptiles occur in large collections and breeding facilities so in these situations proper biosecurity measures and strict quarantine and testing policies should be put in place.
If you have a reptile that is showing any of the symptoms such as diarrhoea,
inappetance, anorexia, weight loss or general ill thrift it is always wise to consult a trusted and experienced reptile veterinarian. Several other diseases can mimic signs of infection ranging from heavy roundworm or pinworm burdens, liver disease and intestinal impactions to more serious internal or metabolic problems. A good reptile vet should be able to outline a clear diagnostic and treatment plan based on the specific history and presentation on a case by case basis.
Many of us attend reptile shows, local reptile meetings and visit each others houses to see or help out with reptiles.
Some of us quarantine any new reptile for around 3 months and ensure we use separate equipment and cleaning items for any reptile in quarantine. Some of us go so far as to ensure we undertake maintenance of quarantined animals on different days to the rest of our collection.
Some of us ensure we are not wearing the same clothes when we deal with our quarantined reptiles.
Most of us do not have Crypto in our collections, and take as many precations as we can to ensure that if we are unfortunate to pick up an animal with Crypto, we have done everything we can to prevent it from transferring to our main collection.
Does Crypto exist ? Yes.
Can it wipe out entire collections ? Yes it could.
How likely is it to happen if we take suitable precautions ? Not very likely.
Are we going to wrap ourselves and our reptiles up in a bubble to prevent any chance of coming across Crypto ? Actually, for most of us, that would take away much of the enjoyment we get from keeping our animals….. however, it is a personal decision that we can only make ourselves.
Below I have copied a number of different comments from people on how they feel about Crypto, and at the bottom of the page I have copied something from two vets. I hope it helps you make up your mind about your own actions….
**************
Procedure I normally follow:
Separate room
Separate feeding and cleaning equipment
Shower between established and new snakes on same day
Six month minimum separation
However, when I got my boa’s from a reputable dealer, I was decorating the room that I usually use as a quarantine room and couldn't put then in there due to gloss paint fumes. I kept them, with the intention of moving them a few days later, with the rest of my snakes. I then forgot to move them. They were perfectly fine.
I'm not suggesting you do this, merely saying that for the majority of the time a new snake will show no need for caution within the six months that we generally separate.
***************
If you are quarantining for IBD, crypto etc then you can quarantine for 4 years and still be none the wiser. 3 months / 6 months quarantine is like sticking a plaster on a haemorrhage. Also unless you are following strict biological controls, which you won't be, then its more or less a complete waste of time anyway.
Basic hygine, common sense, and making sure its mite free are really all you can do other than hope. Most really nasty stuff, as far as we know, needs some sort of direct transfer from host to host, fluids, faecal matter etc.
People quarantine because they think they should, and because it makes them feel better, but in reality most people’s quarantine is actually about as effective as praying.
****************
For me, quarantine is more about observation than separation. It's an equal priority
to spot any issues with a new snake as it is to prevent my existing ones being introduced to anything.
New animals do not come into contact with exisitng ones to the best of my ability - which means I do not handle exisiting snakes if I have recently handled a new arrival, and certainly not without washing my hands before and after, regardless. Sharing of equipment is severely restricted, but they are mostly housed in the same room, and observed vigilantly. Snakes that I've had for a long time are equally inspected more
thoroughly during this first month particularly. The focus for me is observing my new arrivals behaviour / activity and appearance very closely, for peace of mind. Is it as effective as it could be? Probably not, but it makes me feel better, and it's certainly better than just adding snakes to the existing enviroment and not giving it a second thought.
The best approach to quarantine is common sense - as someone quite rightly said, you could quarantine a snake for a full year, and find out a week later that it is
positive for IBD.
*****************
Vet who also breeds reptiles
We quarantine for 3 months. We really only have corns and rats so IBD is low on the
list of things that we worry about, so 3 months is adequate to assess general health of the snake and to allow any mite infestations to raise their ugly head.
We then bulk faecal test them, including a crypto ELISA, before putting them into the main collection. We try and quarantine snakes from different source separately but that is not always possible!
Even crypto ELISA doesn't mean we will pick up carriers, but at least we are trying, and god forbid any come back positive, at least we know the main collection is free.
And yes, we do try and maintain biosecurity as much as possible - if we can the snakes are in a different building, and one of us cares for the Q animals and the other the main collection for the entire 3 months. Again not always possible but we try.
******************
Vet who put information up on internet
Many reptile keepers dread to hear the word ‘Crypto’ and for good reason, as this is
a parasite which can have devastating consequences and wipe out entire collections of reptiles in severe cases. Cryptosporidium infections are found in a wide variety of reptile species, and can cause severe debilitation and death in many, whilst being a commensal or harmless gut organism in others.
The parasite is a protozoan single celled organism with a direct life cycle meaning the host becomes reinfected very quickly with the next generation of eggs contained in faecal material. The importance of this life cycle mode is that infection can spread very rapidly throughout reptile collections unless very strict hygiene and disinfection protocols are put in place. Because some animals may be subclinical carriers with no visible symptoms, by the time an animal is identified as infected the organism may have spread to many others in a collection. Infection can be mild and only cause short term diarrhoea or can lead to severe chronic diarrhoea, wasting, anorexia, failure to thrive and even death. Other signs of disease sometimes occur such as inner ear infections,
reproductive failures and secondary infections such as stomatitis associated with immune debilitation. Cryptosporidia species infecting reptiles are not thought to be transmissible to humans, although we have two species that cause severe gastrointestinal illness of our own.
The first difficulty in treating this infection is that it is difficult to diagnose.
Quite often it is impossible to detect on routine faecal analysis even with specialised staining techniques, hence the prefix ‘crypto-’ meaning ‘hidden’. Many infected animals turn up negative on faecal tests as the parasite is an intermittent shedder, and can also exist in low numbers in the intestinal lining making it extremely easy to stay undetected. The other tests involve a PCR or ELISA test which detect the parasite DNA and are more sensitive but again this relies on the organism showing up in the sample to be tested. The only certain way to diagnose the parasite is on post mortem microscopic examination of sections of gut lining. The second reason it is problematic is that there are no treatments that are 100% reliable or effective. In fact, most reptiles that are showing clinical signs of cryptosporidiosis are already too debilitated to
survive, and the treatments themselves may actually do more harm than good.
Various treatments have been trialled including various classes of antibiotics,
anti-parasitic drugs and even concentrated bovine serum preparations with limited success rates. In some cases, and specifically in large collections it may be necessary to humanely euthanase infected individuals as their prognosis is so poor, in order to safeguard the remaining non-infected animals. Identifying infected versus non-infected individuals can however be challenging.
For these reasons, it is vital that proper quarantine and isolation is carried out on new reptiles when adding to an existing collection. Strict hygiene practices that limit the spread of faecal contamination from one vivarium to the next will limit spread of infection. Particular caution must be taken with any wild-caught individuals, reptiles that are failing to thrive, or repeatedly refuse or regurgitate food, the latter being a common sign of infection in snakes. Leopard geckoes seem to be particularly vulnerable, although it is debatable whether this is due to genuine species susceptibility or due to the tendency towards large, intensive style husbandry conditions with many animals kept in close proximity at breeding facilities. Indeed, the biggest problems with
Cryptosporidiosis in reptiles occur in large collections and breeding facilities so in these situations proper biosecurity measures and strict quarantine and testing policies should be put in place.
If you have a reptile that is showing any of the symptoms such as diarrhoea,
inappetance, anorexia, weight loss or general ill thrift it is always wise to consult a trusted and experienced reptile veterinarian. Several other diseases can mimic signs of infection ranging from heavy roundworm or pinworm burdens, liver disease and intestinal impactions to more serious internal or metabolic problems. A good reptile vet should be able to outline a clear diagnostic and treatment plan based on the specific history and presentation on a case by case basis.