Adenovirus Questions

I tested my 5.. all of which came back positive. I made all the breeders aware of the testing and it should be done.

Originally Posted by walker75

Has everyone that said they where going to test there dragons done so

and then just forgot to post the results

I was just wondering b/c they should be breeding soon if not already

I tested all 15 of mine, PCR testing was the route I chose. My breeders from last year, Trex and Anya, both tested Negative.
My planned Pairs for this year are as follows:
Kahli (Chris Allen Redx Redflame) X Percy (Chris Allen red), both Negative.
Tinkerbelle (Chris Allen Red x Redflame) x Rocky (Cawley red+Hypo Red x Flaming Tiger), Both Negative.

Anya also tested negative, as did Pheonix, Sandy and Astraea. We are unsure at this time if any of these dragons will be paired this year, depending on the market.

Scheduled to enter our breeding program next year are Hera, Elle, and Daphne, all are negative.

We had one positive come back, for Izzy, and she has been placed in a home where there are no other dragons.
We adopted out 2 dragons last year because they were not a good fit for our breeding program because of size and color quality issues, and we just paid to have both of these animals tested as well, but we don't have the results back yet, but they seem to be doing well.

Thank You all for replying to my question on the testing.

I thank you for coming public with this and your results.

Every breeder results matters and so does the customers results.

please test breeders or pet hobbyist

Originally Posted by walker75

Thank You all for replying to my question on the testing.

I thank you for coming public with this and your results.

Every breeder results matters and so does the customers results.

please test breeders or pet hobbyist

I thank you for requesting that breeders come forward with test results.

I've been fielding questions for the last few days about what PCR testing is, and what the difference between PCR and Fecal testing is. I'm no expert, but I've done a bit of research, and I can only give my impressions, so here they are.
Fecal testing, IMHO, is simply not accurate enough for me. That is obviously a personal opinion, but here is my reasoning; False negatives are not that uncommon with fecal testing, and most of the false negatives could be simply the person collecting the samples being unfamiliar or not clear on how important timing is when doing these tests. It's critical, a sample that is to old when it is fixed is simply not going to be accurate. Keep in mind that everything I have been told is that the ONLY risk is a false negative, false positives don't happen, so if your dragon is shedding the virus they are absolutely positive.
PCR testing is different, its a pretty straight forward blood test and a swab of the interior of the vent (Cloacal). Its pretty much the same procedure used for DNA draws.
Personally, I would not trust the fecal swabs for my own dragons, but for others more comfortable with the procedure, go for it.
I'm also a bit concerned that negative test results might be able to be manipulated by simply leaving the samples intentionally to long before fixing them. I would hope that no one would do this, but I've seen so much resistance to testing in general on this forum that I am concerned.

I know that some breeders have financial concerns here. I'm a hobbyist who does limited breeding, but I am and always will be a hobbyist first. I love my babies, they are family members, and their health and security will always be my first concern.

Originally Posted by Denisebme

I thank you for requesting that breeders come forward with test results.

I've been fielding questions for the last few days about what PCR testing is, and what the difference between PCR and Fecal testing is. I'm no expert, but I've done a bit of research, and I can only give my impressions, so here they are.
Fecal testing, IMHO, is simply not accurate enough for me. That is obviously a personal opinion, but here is my reasoning; False negatives are not that uncommon with fecal testing, and most of the false negatives could be simply the person collecting the samples being unfamiliar or not clear on how important timing is when doing these tests. It's critical, a sample that is to old when it is fixed is simply not going to be accurate. Keep in mind that everything I have been told is that the ONLY risk is a false negative, false positives don't happen, so if your dragon is shedding the virus they are absolutely positive.
PCR testing is different, its a pretty straight forward blood test and a swab of the interior of the vent (Cloacal). Its pretty much the same procedure used for DNA draws.
Personally, I would not trust the fecal swabs for my own dragons, but for others more comfortable with the procedure, go for it.
I'm also a bit concerned that negative test results might be able to be manipulated by simply leaving the samples intentionally to long before fixing them. I would hope that no one would do this, but I've seen so much resistance to testing in general on this forum that I am concerned.

I know that some breeders have financial concerns here. I'm a hobbyist who does limited breeding, but I am and always will be a hobbyist first. I love my babies, they are family members, and their health and security will always be my first concern.

Thank You for having explained the differences in these types of tests and why you and others have chosen to submit the results of these tests.

I also am aware of the financial concerns here b/c

You and Others that have came forward are hobbyist, pet parents or wanting limited breeding projects having hearty,healthy stock

You have are paying the price for what others have done before you and ARE still silent.. they are still arguing and blowing big smoke clouds

It has come out of your own hard earned money not profits coming from the sales of ANY Adenovirus Positive Dragons

It has cost hundreds or thousands I Bet in some unexpected vet bills or expenses

And you have chosen to close your colony and keep as pets

In my opinion you where lied to

Everyone has been deceived and at a huge personal price.

They knew they had Adeno Positive Dragons and they still sold them....

I could name a few that I feel are Bearded Dragon Mills and have dumped this on the public..

And still do.... they truly do not care

and this is what they do for a living



I thank you all for caring enough to bring this Public and Please continue to do so

It does matter

I am truly sorry for all the heartache you are all experiencing and the lost sleep and stress that this has cost you personally,

I Hope that as Positive Adeno Dragon owners we can now put all of our experience and knowledge toward something positive like stopping this and also making sure they get the best care we can give them for as long as we get to have them

In my case, I've spent about $1400 on testing. Add that to my cricket bill and husbandry supplies, and there is no way I can break even this year. That's not what its about to me.
All the finger pointing on this is driving me a little bit crazy. IMO, the only concern I have is where we, as a community, go from here. We know this is an issue, how big an issue can be debated if people feel it necessary to do that, but we can see by the sheer volume of positive results and the high price that some have paid, that its real and its here and we have to deal with it.

Originally Posted by walker75

Thank You for having explained the differences in these types of tests and why you and others have chosen to submit the results of these tests.

I also am aware of the financial concerns here b/c

You and Others that have came forward are hobbyist, pet parents or wanting limited breeding projects having hearty,healthy stock

You have are paying the price for what others have done before you and ARE still silent.. they are still arguing and blowing big smoke clouds

It has come out of your own hard earned money not profits coming from the sales of ANY Adenovirus Positive Dragons

It has cost hundreds or thousands I Bet in some unexpected vet bills or expenses

And you have chosen to close your colony and keep as pets

In my opinion you where lied to

Everyone has been deceived and at a huge personal price.

They knew they had Adeno Positive Dragons and they still sold them....

I could name a few that I feel are Bearded Dragon Mills and have dumped this on the public..

And still do.... they truly do not care

and this is what they do for a living



I thank you all for caring enough to bring this Public and Please continue to do so

It does matter

After reading this post and the other on the subject, I am truly sorry to those who have been effected by this. I know it will break my heart if any of my dragons are positive(all of which are be tested on friday).
I also apologize if I have missed this question and response but I wanted to know if Adeno can be contracted by other species of reptiles in my collection?

Drew

each reptile species have their own. as far as my research shows it cant cross species. unless the reptile/animal or fecal matter is injested. and i dont think that will be happening.
Let us know how your testing goes. Good luck

Originally Posted by Denisebme

I thank you for requesting that breeders come forward with test results.

I've been fielding questions for the last few days about what PCR testing is, and what the difference between PCR and Fecal testing is. I'm no expert, but I've done a bit of research, and I can only give my impressions, so here they are.
Fecal testing, IMHO, is simply not accurate enough for me. That is obviously a personal opinion, but here is my reasoning; False negatives are not that uncommon with fecal testing, and most of the false negatives could be simply the person collecting the samples being unfamiliar or not clear on how important timing is when doing these tests. It's critical, a sample that is to old when it is fixed is simply not going to be accurate. Keep in mind that everything I have been told is that the ONLY risk is a false negative, false positives don't happen, so if your dragon is shedding the virus they are absolutely positive.
PCR testing is different, its a pretty straight forward blood test and a swab of the interior of the vent (Cloacal). Its pretty much the same procedure used for DNA draws.
Personally, I would not trust the fecal swabs for my own dragons, but for others more comfortable with the procedure, go for it.
I'm also a bit concerned that negative test results might be able to be manipulated by simply leaving the samples intentionally to long before fixing them. I would hope that no one would do this, but I've seen so much resistance to testing in general on this forum that I am concerned.

I know that some breeders have financial concerns here. I'm a hobbyist who does limited breeding, but I am and always will be a hobbyist first. I love my babies, they are family members, and their health and security will always be my first concern.

SO which option did you use? I have looked all over the US for a lab that will process a blood sample and cloacal swab and none exist, that I have found. California Avian the vet didn't specify which species the sample was being collected for, they assumed it would be avian, so when I went to get the blood drawn at the vet, she sent me home cuz we could not use that lab. Next she tried down in Florida, no luck there, only fecal being done. So who all is using blood as a test? I have a dragon that it is being nearly impossible to get a sample on him. He hasn't been trained to go in the water like the older ones. He is only like 8 or 9 months old now and this is not proving to be easy. My vet has been going nuts trying to find someone who will do it, but we are having no luck. This guy needs to be tested because of where he came from.