One More Reason to Test for Adenovirus

Thank you, guys. I do apologize for not being real "wordy" right now. I'm kind of at a loss right now.

Tere,

Just as I told you earlier tonight on the phone.....there should be more folks like you that admit to and do something about this, and many of us wouldn't be having to deal with it today. I will be having every one of my dragons tested, I will be contacting Lou Ann on Monday to get the kits, and will begin collecting samples as soon as they drop them. I can only hope that others will do the same, to prevent others from having to go through this nightmare.

And I am SO glad you have made the decision to not euthanise the positive dragons. It saddens me that you will no longer be breeding them, but the dragons you do have will have the best for as long as they possibly can. Those dragons are a part of your family as much as mine are a part of mine, and they are lucky to have ended up with you as their "mommy".

*hugs*

Tere, I am truely sorry to read of the difficulties you are going through. Best wishes.

Tere,

I know I have already told you this a million times today but I am so sorry. I'm glad to hear you finally decided not to euthanize your dragons. I have no doubt that they will live long healthy lives even though they have this virus. I refuse to believe that this virus is a death sentence. There are just too many unanswered questions concerning adeno. I hope that your experience combined with others will get the ball rolling on finding a cure.

Tere-

I am really sorry that this happened. I appreciate you coming forward and informing (therefore educating) the reptile community. If I had been faced with more of my breeders testing positive, I would have taken the same route as you. Clyde went to Dr. Wentz, so I know he will be well cared for. I was able to place the last baby I had (a dragon I bought back from a customer) in a terrific home and that was definitely a bright spot in the whole ordeal. I know the shock and dismay you are feeling. Hang in there, you have a lot of support and it obvious many people care about you. Take care.

I don't think any of you guys have any idea how much your support means to us right now. Thank you so much.

Kudos isn't enough in this, but they're there all the same.

I am so truly sorry for this, and while those words aren't very powerful, I know the sentiment from the hearts of everyone is. Keep your head up and strength be with you in your decisions and results of those decisions.

What a horrilbe issue. The only way I can put this right in my head is to compare it to the Black Plague. One day humans may once again face such a virus therefore I hope our little dragon's help the human race in the future by their sacrafice.

Originally Posted by Saladragon

It is with great pain that I make this post. After seeing the heartbreak that Wendy at Neverland Dragons had suffered due to the Adenovirus, I decided to have all my breeders tested. I submitted 10 samples for testing on January 17th. Of the 10 samples, 6 of the tests were completed this afternoon. The remainder of the tests will be completed Monday morning. Of those 6 samples, 4 of our breeders came back positive for the Adenovirus.
Those breeders who tested positive are Hercules, Adonis, Athena and Andromeda. As soon as the remaining test results are received I will post those as well. Currently Aphrodite and Eros are negative.

As soon as I got word from the lab about the positive results, I contacted a very close friend of mine who has two offspring from Apollo and Lizzie and who just received PCR testing results. Of those two offspring, one tested positive and one tested negative for the Adenovirus. Apollo passed away in December of 2005 and was never tested, and Lizzie's results will be posted as soon as they are received.

I have already contacted everyone that I have documentation for, but in October of last year, we attended the Tucson Reptile Show, and sold quite a few babies from those parents. I do not have any way of contacting the people who bought from us at that show. If you purchased a dragon from us at the Tucson Show in October, please contact us as soon as possible.

Please everyone test your dragons!!! It doesn't matter if you bought them from me or Joe Blow on the street corner. The only way we can get some control over this virus is to test our animals and learn from what we find.
Perhaps over time and with enough testing some great minds may develop a cure and all of our beloved dragons will be safe.

As of today, Obsession Dragons became nothing more than my obsession for bearded dragons. We will no longer be breeding, purchasing, selling or trading.

Teri,
You know how much I love you, but I just wanted to tell you again.
For those of you with Dragons. I know how expensive the testing can be, but its worth it. If you're planning on breeding, its critical. We've tested all of our breeders, and thus far, we've been fortunate, all of our breedes came back negative.
I can not even begin to express how much love I know Teri has for her Dragons, I only wish everyone had her integrity.
Denise

I thought I was done crying for today, Denise, until I read your post. Thank you. I love you, too.