Motor City Dragons said:
That almost sounded like a dare...
We have had no mortality at all from two clutches of positive babies that all appear healthy and are thriving except for one . That one became and has stayed very sick, after leaving us.
We also obtained the (recently tested positive) parent that produced them, as a hatchling. She also has never been sick, and is still thriving.
It sounds terrible, but I wish ours would have been like some others, and died soon after hatching. We would have known sooner, and wouldn't have to deal with the knowledge that we sold what we thought were healthy animals to people and in some cases, apparently, infected their collections.
I tend to not follow crowds.
Then again, I didn't even think there was one.
Great post, and you so clearly stated what is obviously the big issue. Even an apparently healthy and thriving young Beardie, if positive for Adenovirus, can infect other Beardies. An unsuspecting buyer can do everything right, quaranteen, do fecal exams for parasites, use the appropriate substrates and feeding, and still infect every Beardie they own if they aren't aware of the hazards.
A baby that appears healthy today may not be healthy in a month or two, but before they even show symptoms, they can pass this disease on.
An adult Dragon that is positive that breeds can spread Adeno to the offspring, which are then sold into other homes, infecting other colonies.
I also tend not to follow crowds. I make decisions independently, and act based on the facts as I learn them. All the bolony about where Adeno came from, who created what morphs, and all the rest of the stuff that really isn't important to me. What matters is that people who don't know, the person buying their first dragon, people who simply love these creatures without knowing much about the industry, are not out there buying infected animals. It makes us all look bad when an individual buys a reptile from someone that they believe is a "reputable" breeder, then racks up huge vet bills finding out that their dragon is infected with a disease that the breeder should have known about prior to breeding.
I'm honestly a bit frustrated with what I've seen. Anyone who wants information about this disease can simply search out their own answers. I know that because I did it. I was sick and tired of all the contradictory information I saw here.
For anyone who wants to do their own research, this is what I did, it'll give you a place to start.
Most Veterinary schools are listed online. Do a google search for Veterinary schools in your state. When you find them, go to the schools website, and see if they have a research department, if they do, they normally have contact information for quite a few of the people in that department, I simply copied them down, and emailed them all (I sent about 200, yes, 200 emails to different schools).
Some people will email you back the information they have, some people, if they are anything like the people I spoke with, will actually express an interest in your particular situation and will help you to find additional information.
Some of the people who sent on information actually invited me to call them if I had more questions, and I did, I talked to people all over the state.
If you experience is anything like mine, and I know that Tere had very similar experiences, then you are going to hear the same names over and over, Dr. Wentz (My spelling may be off here), and Dr. Jacobson.
If your experience is anything like mine, you'll also become an advocate for testing, and a strong believer that whatever the issues between Cheri and others in the community, that she's right about testing, and that she's absolutely right to keep advising people to get their animals tested, particularly breeders.
: 
This has opened up A huge CAN of WORMS that shall not go away anytime soon.. 
It is the right thing to do... 
