• Responding to email notices you receive.
    **************************************************
    In short, DON'T! Email notices are to ONLY alert you of a reply to your private message or your ad on this site. Replying to the email just wastes your time as it goes NOWHERE, and probably pisses off the person you thought you replied to when they think you just ignored them. So instead of complaining to me about your messages not being replied to from this site via email, please READ that email notice that plainly states what you need to do in order to reply to who you are trying to converse with.

  • IMPORTANT! PLEASE READ!! About the Google Adsense ads being displayed

    =====================
    Posted 08/15/2025
    =====================


    Yeah, I know. They are a pain in the butt. But they pay the bills to keep my server running. Just a fact of life, I am afraid.

    Want to get rid of them? Simple. Just become a Contributor level member or above and they will be gone. -> Please click HERE."

    Is that too much for me to ask of you to keep this site running? Well, sorry about that. I too wish I could get everything for free. But alas.....

    =====================
    Addendum: 01/10/2026
    =====================


    Google Adsense ad revenue for December, 2025 was just $30 over the cost of the lease for the server running this site. So, in effect, the money providing the incentive for me to continue running this site is coming SOLELY from the paid memberships and sponsorships here. Which honestly ain't much....

IBD disease / My ball and my boas

SPJ WHEN WAS THE LAST TIME YOU HAD YOUR SNAKES TESTED? I 'LL SEND YOU MY RESULTS YOU SEND ME YOURS.

I BET YOU HAVE BEEN TO A SHOW THOUGH, I BET YOU HANDLED SNAKES TOO. OK LETS HEAR IT, YOU ARE CAREFUL YOU ARE AN EXPERT, ITS NOT POSSIBLE THAT ANY SNAKE YOU OWN OR HAVE HANDLED HAS IT.

AS FAR AS MY POSTS TELL ME HOW TO REMOVE THEM WHEN IT AND I WILL...BUT IT WILL NOT LET ME, IT SAYS I AM NOT AUTHORIZED FOR THAT ACTION
 
Seamus Haley said:
I do not have a fax machine. I have not had a fax machine in years. I could probably set up one of those internet email linked fax accounts, but it'd probably be just as easy for you to post things here.
Click to expand...

Or, come to think of it, there may be someone reading the thread who has a fax machine and a scanner- who could possibly clarify a great many things if they don't mind relaying information. Volunteers anyone?
 
DONT KNOW HOW TO POST LIKE THAT. I WOULD BE GLAD TO SEND TO ANYONE WHO IS INTERESTED. LEFT A MESSAGE FOR THE DOC.

SO THIS ONLY FURTHER CLARIFIES MY POINT IF THE BALL IS NEGATIVE, ALL OF THE OTHER BOAS WERE PURCHASED FROM REPUTABLE PEOPLE. MY OTHER BOAS IN MY COLLECTION I HAVE HAD FOR 5 PLUS YEARS AND THEY ARE PERFECT. SO ARE THE BOAS THAT CAME BACK POSITIVE??????????????????????????????
 
I think the reason other boa owners are not grabbing their snakes and dashing out the door to go to a vet is because they have no impetus to do so. These boa owners have no indication that there is a need to worry, due to buying from reputable breeders, precautionary quarantine and husbandry practices, etc. etc. In a perfect world, when someone identifies snakes with IBD, they let others know that may be at risk, ie people who have handled their snakes, people, whose snakes have been handled, people who bought the seller's snakes, people who bought the seller's products, and so on. If the boa owners that haven't tested their snakes have not been contacted by a person known to have IBD infections, then their should be a slim chance for IBD infection and hence the lack of lines at the vets to have boids tested for IBD.

I hope this makes sense to you, Mike. Just because animals are not being mass tested does not mean the owners are scumbags for not wanting to know. It may be the simple fact that they have no indication that there is a problem with their collection. Now, this could be a little naive in believing everything a breeder says, but that is where trusting a reputable breeder comes in to play.

The same thing happens in the human population. Have you been tested for diseases that may or may not manifest themselves with symptoms?? Sexually transmitted diseases are a perfect example. There are some diseases that present with outward symptoms in women, while men are asymptomatic. However, both can transmit the disease. Just because a man says he is disease free and shows no symptoms, does not mean he is not a carrier and lying through this teeth. Without a hint or indication that someone has a disease, there should be no need to be tested for everything under the sun.

I guess my point from all this rambling is that if the other boid owners have no suspicion that they may have been exposed to IBD, then there is no need to do mass testing on all their animals.
 
mjcnj said:
SPJ WHEN WAS THE LAST TIME YOU HAD YOUR SNAKES TESTED? I 'LL SEND YOU MY RESULTS YOU SEND ME YOURS.

I BET YOU HAVE BEEN TO A SHOW THOUGH, I BET YOU HANDLED SNAKES TOO. OK LETS HEAR IT, YOU ARE CAREFUL YOU ARE AN EXPERT, ITS NOT POSSIBLE THAT ANY SNAKE YOU OWN OR HAVE HANDLED HAS IT.

AS FAR AS MY POSTS TELL ME HOW TO REMOVE THEM WHEN IT AND I WILL...BUT IT WILL NOT LET ME, IT SAYS I AM NOT AUTHORIZED FOR THAT ACTION
Click to expand...

I don't test for IBD but do for other things. I've had animals tested last Nov, this past May, and as a matter of fact, sent the FULL medical file on the last snake I sold to the buyer.

I don't keep boas any more. I only have pythons. They would show symptoms relatively fast and since I don't want to jeopardize them, I will not add a boa to my collection.

As far as a show is concerned, I have not been to one for over a year and the last time I did go, I did not handle anything except the BP that came home with me.
 
When was a blood test for the IBD virus developed? I know the University of Florida was working on one which seemed to have possibilities, increased enzymes present or something like that, but I did not know it was used commonly. Can anyone post any info? Thanx
 
Back in 2000, some researchers correlated the presence of the inclusion bodies with an over-abundance of a 68 kDa non-viral protein. The earliest that I could find any published research was from 1980.
 
To add to the last post....

The inclusion bodies are intracytoplasmic, which means they are developing in the cystoplasm (or fluid portion) of affected cells. So by doing a blood test, they have to isolate cells then examine them microscopically for the presence of the inclusion bodies that would appear as dark masses inside the cell.
 
The inclusion bodies are intracytoplasmic, which means they are developing in the cystoplasm (or fluid portion) of affected cells. So by doing a blood test, they have to isolate cells then examine them microscopically for the presence of the inclusion bodies that would appear as dark masses inside the cell.
Click to expand...
I wonder how many veteranarians are aware of, or capable of performing these tests?
 
The blood tests are not conclusive from what my vet told me. Your boid can still have it and it not show up in the blood test. I do believe she said a liver biopsy is the only way to know for certain.

Can anyone else verify that information?
 
shrap said:
The blood tests are not conclusive from what my vet told me. Your boid can still have it and it not show up in the blood test. I do believe she said a liver biopsy is the only way to know for certain.

Can anyone else verify that information?
Click to expand...


The liver biopsy is the only way I have heard of IBD being detected in a live animal.
 
shrap said:
The blood tests are not conclusive from what my vet told me. Your boid can still have it and it not show up in the blood test. I do believe she said a liver biopsy is the only way to know for certain.

Can anyone else verify that information?
Click to expand...

From the research I have read and my background in microbiology and immunology, I would say that is correct. The blood test is not 100% guaranteed to be conclusive. The inclusion bodies form in nearly all the organs of the body, so the blood test is just looking for cells that have become separated from the infected tissues. The liver is the most affected organ in the body, so liver biopsies are a much better indicator of IBD.

Any vet that has a microscope could do the blood test. It would involve getting a blood sample then isolating cells. The cells would then be smeared on a slide to ideally form a monolayer of cells. Then the entire slide would be examined for masses within the cells.

The problem with the blood test is that there is a chance that no infected cells may be located from the blood sample, the inclusions may not be large enough to see with a standard light microscope (necessitating an electron microscope, which most vets won't have), or the inclusions could be confused with other cellular organelles normally found within the cells.
 
mjcnj said:
DENNIS HULTMAN..ME EUTHENIZING MY BOAS IS NOT THE ANSWER, BECAUSE I AM ONLY 1 PERSON, AND YES I HAVE TO WHAT IS RIGHT AND I WILL BUT WHAT ABOUT THOSE THAT SAY MY SNAKES ARE FINE.
Click to expand...


I would suggest asking the breeders, accomplished reptile authors, and other forum members that put down their snakes. Hundreds of animals, whole collections that were wiped out that were build over years not months to help control this plague on the hobby.

I'm sure they would have given anything to have been able to spare their animals as well. Weighing the possibilities they came to only one unselfish heart-wrenching conclusion. I’m grateful to them for the sacrifice.
 
Mike, I don't know who you talked to, but they are seriously downplaying the nature if this disease. You want facts? Here's a few. Taken from Reptile Medicine and Surgery, second edition, 2006. Dr, Douglas Mader, MS, DVM, DABVP Diplomat, American Board of Veterinary Medicine, (with other contributing vets of course)....

Sorry, but My scanner does not work, so I had to do pictures. Hope you can read them, they seemed clear enough for me.

{Had to remove pictures}

Go ahead and believe what some "large breeder" told you. You realize most are in it for the money don't you? Of course they will see it as not profitable to test them all. It would cut into their over all money making plans. God forbid something like that should happen. :rolleyes: HA HA One of those "large breeders" went home from Daytona (year before last I think it was) PISSED OFF because he only made a hundred grand the weekend of the show. What does that tell you?

The people who are working so hard to study, understand, and find a cure for this disease are in it for the health of the animals. Dedicated PROFESSIONALS, that have ACTUAL medical training and EDUCATION.

Now here's what I would REALLY like to know. WHO told you these things you mention above? I would like a name or names, so I can put them on my LONG do not do business with, list. These people don't seem like the brightest crayons in the box. They certainly ain't the sharpest tools in the shed, seem to be a few cards short of a full deck, etc. etc. etc. (I am politely calling them FOOLS BTW)

Here's a couple links you should pass on to your Vet too, so they can have updated reference on hand. Judging by your post's, I'd say they need some refresher courses.


http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/cu...5612?ie=UTF8&n=283155&s=books#customerReviews
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0849323215/ref=pe_pe_5050_4885490_pe_snp_215
http://www.amazon.com/Avian-Exotic-...0813818117/ref=pd_sim_b_4/105-1687200-3975612


I'm done. :thumbsup:
 
Last edited:
I don't mean to cause a fuss here.....but posting pictures of a book is a violation of copyright laws....not that I'm going to turn anybody in to the authorities, but just a caveat for people wanting to make a point....
 
I have a feeling that Mike is long gone and will not be replying to this thread anymore.
 
99Vengeur said:
I don't mean to cause a fuss here.....but posting pictures of a book is a violation of copyright laws....not that I'm going to turn anybody in to the authorities, but just a caveat for people wanting to make a point....
Click to expand...
OOPS! Flew right by me in my current state of mind.

Sorry people, but I don't need that. I guess i could take a week and type it out. LOL
 
SPJ said:
I have a feeling that Mike is long gone and will not be replying to this thread anymore.
Click to expand...

You are correct. He stated in his last post that he would no longer read or reply to the thread. :NoNo: Me thinks he tucked tail and ran. :rolleyes:
 
You are correct. He stated in his last post that he would no longer read or reply to the thread. Me thinks he tucked tail and ran.
Click to expand...


I believe he's posted since the post your writing about. In his last post it looked like he was asking more questions due to his bp being negative.
 
Back
Top