thinking about getting a RTB

[Patrick Long]

gotta love quarentine

[serpents-prey]

ooo! tell me more! no seriously! is it easy to test for? i intend to keep them in seperate rooms any way but does that mean i have to like scrub my arms before switching?

[ladywhipple02]

You should really wash your hands and disinfect them between handling any two snakes, especially if they are in quarantine away from each other.

Testing isn't conclusive. The only way to test for it is by doing a liver biopsy, which is very expensive... and hasn't been proven. It's possible a snake can test positive for inclusion bodies and not actually have IBD.

I like to explain IBD like this: it is the AIDS for snakes, though much faster acting in BPs. It breaks down the immune system so that the snake actually dies from an RI or neurological disorder rather than from IBD. Nasty stuff...

Boas are carriers of the disease. It can take long periods of time for them to begin showing symptoms of it---stargazing, chronic RIs, mouth rot, eventually degrading into neurological problems such as striking at random and being unable to roll over when placed on their backs. BPs, however, will begin showing symptoms almost immediately... there have been cases where someone will bring a boa into their collection and it will show no signs of being sick. Once introduced directly into the collection, however, their other boids start getting sick and dying.

No one's really sure how it's passed. Possibly through the air, but definitely through touching, sharing cages, water bowls, etc.

Fact is, we really don't know that much about it. The only way to get rid of it, once it's in a collection, is to immediately dispose of the infected animals... and personally, I wouldn't ever trust a cage or anything that an infected animal has used. I would get rid of everything like that too.

So that's the break-down. The way it was introduced sounded as if boas were the culprit of the disease, which isn't true. All boids can have and/or spread IBD... it is NOT boa exclusive. They simply catch a lot of flak for being carriers.

[serpents-prey]

wow . . . . . . now i'm afraid . . . would i need to change clothes between handling do all boas have this or . . . hmmmmm
i think i'll still get one

[ladywhipple02]

*sigh*

It's not a boa only disease. You can just as easily bring it into your collection via a BP, or any other boid... any python or boa can carry it.

Fortunately, the disease is incredibly rare. Just take precautions when bringing any new snake into your collection. Keep it away from your other snakes, wash your hands between handlings, get them vet checked if anything seems out of the ordinary, etc.

[Mindibun]

ladywhipple, I guess that's what I was talking about. It was only mentioned in passing in the article that I was reading at the time, and they definitely made it sound like a boa-only disease. Now that I know it isn't, I may have to re-evaluate getting one. I didn't want to put my BPs at risk so I immediately said I'd never get a boa. Now that I understand more about it and that it's rare and whatnot, I'm back to wanting a boa.

Thanks a bunch, that was a really knowledgeable post. If I knew how rep points work, I'd give you some.

Knowledge is power. -lol-

[ladywhipple02]

See that little scale under my picture on the left...? Load 'er up! LOL, glad to have helped! It's always a pleasure bringing people into the world of boa

[serpents-prey]

gotcha you didn't say it was rare gotcha. ok now i'm definitely gonna get a boa this spring or summer. now that that is settled i have one more question; should i start with a hatchling or is it ok to get a yearling?

[ladywhipple02]

That, my friend, is totally up to you. I usually point people in the direction of neonates---babies---because then you can grow with your snake; his attitudes, wants, dislikes, etc. But yearlings are usually still pretty small, as long as they haven't been powerfed (you can tell this by looking at the boa's head... it will seem too small compared to the body. It's not healthy for a snake to be power-fed, and can severly shorten their life spans).

Other than that, find one that steals your heart and go for it!

[8b8ll]

Hey Man,

Why are you so quick to get your mind of burms?

If you want a burm...keep one. If you know that YOU are ready then go for it.

http://www.mccarthyboas.com/BigSnake.html

Check those boa's out even though there are some obese ones, that can give you a good idea of how big they can potentially get. If you get a male Burm...honestly a big boa could be just as much work IMO. I'm talking males.

Whatever you choose to get...start of with a juvenile or hatchling.

This way you aren't overwhelmed....lets say if you got a 8-10 footer.

This way you can also grow with the snake.

Good luck!!


Mike