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The dreaded IBD

J

jamiryan365

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I believe i may have an IBD epidemic on my hands.
i am really just wondering if anyone has dealt with this nasty disease before and if you have any tips on what to do?
I have lost three snakes so far. ive sent one out for necropsy. and i am still waiting on results.

HELP!
 
wow...wait on the results before losing it...i have never delt with it before...
 
I'm real sorry to hear that.

Did you bring new snakes into your collection recently? If so, where did you get them?
 
Who did you send the request for a necropsy to?

IMO, from the research and reading about others' experiences...it seems that all you may be able to do in the meantime is keep them all clean, make sure their environments are humid with the appropriate temps, and keep them from shows, other friends' snakes and don't allow your friends to bring any of their snakes around until you get a clean bill of health.

Also, I would make a time line (gathering evidence) and try to pinpoint which snake brought it in and from whom it was purchased... just in case.

Hope it's a false alarm. Good luck.
 
What symptoms were you experiencing? I noticed in another post you mentioned having a spider ball. Was it displaying any neurological symptoms?
 
RIs can have similar symptoms to IBD. Please list out symptoms that you noticed so that us fellow snake keepers can help out. :) With RIs running through collections right now I would not be surprised if that is the cause. I have ever only talked to one person who had IBD before and I have contact with lots of snakey individuals. :) That person ordered a big shipment of about 20 snakes (most likely w/c) and only ended up having one survive that I guess they rehomed (which as far as I know, once you have in your collection, there is no cure and you might as well cull all your animals)...what i have read anyways.
 
Necropsy will only show so much, tissues must be sent in for pathology testing, usually tissues from the lung, brain, liver, etc. Sometimes it will only show in one location and not all.

I really hope the OP does not have IBD as it's a very scary thing. If tests come back positive, euthanize the collection and have all equipment and caging destroyed. I sent the OP a PM as I know someone working on IBD research that is looking for specimens if it's positive.

I'm really sorry you've having to go through this Jami.
 
Well i really hope it is RI or something that is curable.
symptoms in all three were the same- refusal to eat. Couple regurged. loss of interest. loss of coordination. Couldnt turn over when i put them on their back. They never star gazed though. each of them would show slight symptoms for a few hours. be okay and normal for a while. then suddenly die.

EXAMPLE: i had suspected one of my females was infected. i checked on her this morning at 6 she was great and normal as ever. At 730 when i was leaving for work i checked on her again. she was laying funny. i picked her up, she lifted her head for a couple seconds then went limp and was dead. in my hands.
 
Were these three snakes from the same source? The reason I ask is because I am assuming they all passed away in a fairly short time frame. If they are from different places and all died fairly close to the same time as the others, you might be looking at something else.

This might not make any difference, but do you live feed? If so, do you house these mice/rats together?
 
It sounds like IBD to me. I am very sorry about your loss..and what you will now most likely have to face. I hope that the necropsy finds something different and that it will be treatable by antibiotics, but, that does not sound like an RI to me.
 
I do feed live. no these snakes didnt come from the same source.

Thank you everyone for all of your help i really appreciate. if there are any more ideas please post!!
Ill let yall know when i get results!
 
This is just disturbing to hear...I'm really sorry you're going through this Jamie and could only imagine what it feels like. I really hope things turn out for the best. I really do appreciate you coming out so openly with it as well...even though you're not sure of anything yet, that takes a good amount of courage.
 
IBD is rare could be a zoonosis type bateria to get it you have to have mites or brought in a inbfected snakes or boas have any boas??? they carry the virus & can live with the virus Balls & other pythons die after being exposed,within a few days to week or so
 
Greg, To my knowledge, you can spread IBD just as easily as an RI if I remember correctly in info I read. Checking on her other posts, it looks as if she has gotten new snakes recently enough that this very well could be IBD. You dont NEED mites in order to transfer it. Getting mucus from an infected snake on your hands/clothes and then going and dealing with another snake I think transfers it just as easily if the info I have read in the past is correct.
 
I'm wondering if there is some sort of parasite or protozoan which may be causing a secondary bacteria infection. It's basically conjecture at this point. I just hope you are not dealing with IBD and your other snakes can be treated. We're these three snakes housed together at any point?
 
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