Snakes regugitating...again..is it Cryptosporidium?

[Stevefromsd]

Ever have a snake that had Cryptosporidium? If so, did it die from it? I have 5 Rosys that keep regugitating their food. I already tried flagyl to treat internal parisites. That seemed to work on 2 of the snakes. 3 are still puking though. I'm trying Zythromycin now and hoping that works. the vet is starting to think it might be Cryptosporidium.

[Glenn Bartley]

They could be regurgitating due to a number of reasons, why are you prone to think it is Crytosporidia? I always look to environmental factors first, even when an animals kept by an experienced keeper are involved. Could there be any environmental factor that is causing this? Some things to consider would be less/more than optimal heat conditions, poisoning (from such things as mite treatments, substrates like cedar, other chemicals in the snake room, and so on), to frequent handling after meals (do you have kids who handle the snakes) to obstructions in each snake (depending on whether or not they are fed while in an enclosure with certain substrates this is possible). By the way, do you keep other snakes that are not effected; if so check those environmental conditions of those Rosys very well. Cryptosporidia are extremely easy to transmit from one animal to the other, so chances are if your other snakes do not have it, it may be something else.

Of course there are also plenty of other causes for regurgitation among the diseases and parasites that snakes can encounter. Metronidazole may not have been the drug of choice for whatever may be infecting your Rosy's, if indeed they are infected. If they are regurgitating due to irritation caused by worms in the upper GI tract, then it is possible that something else may have been a better choice such as (Fenbendazole) Panacur. Of course the cause may also be a disease such as an infection of the stomach, which if contagious could be spread among your snakes.

Of course there are certain signs to look for if you suspect Cryptosporidia as the cause. Symptoms of Crytosporidiosis to be wary of, according to Roger J. Klingenburg in Understanding Reptile Parasites (pp: 62-65), are: failure to respond to conventional therapy (my guess is this would be therapy of more than one type such as Flagyl, Panacur and possibly antibiotics), extreme weight loss of up to 70%, mucus laden cheesy stooles, mid-body firm mass. Klingenburg further goes on to state that the mid body thickening of the stomach that causes the mid body swelling may also cause regurgitation. He believe that the swelling combined with the other symptoms is almost conclusive as to diagnosis; although he also points out that the swelling does not always occur.

From what I have heard in various forums both on-line and at herp society meets and show, Crytosporidia seem to be very feared and little understood. It also seems to be a catch all type of parasite, in that many people, vets included, are apparently willing all to often to attribute the ill affects of an animal to this parasite because of their inability to diagnose a disease pathogen or parasite correctly.

By the way, if this turns out to actually be diagnosed as Crytosporidiosis, be sure to exercise extreme hygiene as this is not only easy to transmit to other animals but also can possibly be transmitted to people.

Goof luck,
Glenn B

[oldherper]

Crypto is a tricky one. The one sure-fire telltale symptom (when accompanied by other symptoms) is the hard mid-body swelling that Glenn mentions. Cryptosporidium serpentis is a Coccidian, but it does not respond to the typical therapies that would be used for something like Eimeria sp.. Incidentally, the hard mid-body swelling in snakes will coincide with the location of the stomach. Crypto concentrates in the stomach of snakes and in the intestines of lizards.

I agree with Glenn. I would not jump to conclusions and make a hasty diagnosis of Crypto. It is much, much more likely that something else is causing the regurgitation. Actual cases of Cryptospridiasis (IMHO) are relatively rare. It is not difficult to detect, though. Acid-fast staining of a fecal smear or gastric lavage should show it if it's present in large enough numbers to be a problem. Crypto is a very, very small bacteria and rather difficult to see without the proper staining technique and very high magnification with a light microscope (1,200x to 1,600x). I've examined a number of smears and lavages when Crypto was suspected as a possibility and only found it once (in a White-Lipped Python), so I think it's not very common in reality.

It is important also to make the distinction between regurgitating and vomiting. Regurgitation is bringing the food item back up from the stomach and usually occurs within 24 hours of feeding. Vomiting is bringing the food item back up from the intestines and occurs after about 24 hours of feeding. Vomited food items will appear partially digested and will have a strong odor. Whether the snake is vomiting or regurgitating can help determine what the problem is.

If the problem is, in fact Crypto, then the prognosis is bleak. This is one disease that will spread through a collection like wildfire. It may be selective in what species it affects within the collection or it may wipe out the entire collection. The only things proven to kill Crypto (that are available to the average person) are strong UVA/UVB (sunlight), very high heat, and Ammonia. Chlorine bleach does NOT kill Crypto.

There is an experimental therapy for Crypto that shows some promise. It involves using Hyperimmune Bovine Colostrum in conjuntion with supportive therapy. There is not enough data yet to know just how effective this treatment will be, though.

Snakes that have Cryptosporidiasis tend to go downhill very quickly. They will regurgitate, refuse to drink, then rapidly dehydrate. Once a snake loses about 20% of it's body weight through dehydration then organ failure is imminent. Drug therapy on dehydrated snakes must be approached cautiously.

Normally when a snake is positively diagnosed with Crypto, then that snake and often the entire collection will be euthanized. This is one of the reasons that it is vitally important to quarantine new animals (in a separate room) for a minimum of 6 months before placing them into an established collection.

[Stevefromsd]

They would throw the food up after 48 hours or so. And it smelled BAD. So it was usually partially digested already. I did just find out there was a 4 degree difference in temperature between the thermometer I had at the time and the new, more expensive digital thermometer I just got. So it might have been a temperature thing.

[oldherper]

OK. If they are vomiting, it's not likely Crypto. I would be more inclined to go along with temperatures as a likely culprit, or possibly intestinal parasites.

[Stevefromsd]

Intestinal parisites were found in at least 2 of them. Do you know if Zythromyacin works on intestinal parisites?

[oldherper]

No, Zythromycin is an antibiotic. It won't do a thing for worms. What specific parasite was found?

[Stevefromsd]

jardia (I know that's spelled wrong). I just spoke to the vet and he said he found no more parisites last time. I think it was a temperature issue. Is 80-90 a good temp range?

[Stevefromsd]

She just puked again. This time 4 or 5 days after she ate!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I'm starting to think it might be time to just put her down.

[KaylaJ]

I have 5 Crypto positive snakes in my collection. Well, 4 now. I had to put one down about a year ago because she was so severly affected by the parasite. The four that I still have are doing very well considering what they have. The initial symptoms in two of the five were vomitting about 2-3 days after eating, lethargy, weight loss, anemia, and runny feces. The other three never showed any symptoms of the parasite. I conducted the Acid Fast tests on their fecal samples in the lab at Texas A&M vet school. I found crypto oocysts in all 5 of the fecal samples, but not in all of the gastric lavages. I kept them in optimal conditions and kept their cages as clean as possible to reduce the chance of re-infection. That was over a year ago and they are still going strong. One of my boas had declined quite a bit but then for some reason, started making a come back. He is eating and keeping his meals down and I have not been able to find any more oocysts in his feces. I think he will be stunted though. We were going to try an experimental drug treatment on him using Nitazoxanide. The vet working with me on my research informed me that the Hyperimmune Bovine Colostrum had not had that great of an affect on the Crypto and that the Nitazoxanide would be a good drug to try. But, because he stopped shedding the oocysts, we couldn't try the treatment. If you still have your sickly snakes and you suspect Crypto, you are welcome to send me a fecal sample and I will test it in the lab.
I hope this all makes sense. I'm not really thinking clearly at the moment. :) If you have any questions, please let me know.

Good Luck! I hope they get better!

Kayla

[1216dex]

Out of curiosity what is that drug used for and what does it disrupt in the parasite? Is the colostrum used just to raise Ig titers, or is there some other effect?