BP diseases (and prevention)??

I just can't get over the thread that was posted a few days ago titled "Very sick Ball Python- Help!" I just feel awful for them, I know how I would feel if I lost Jackson like that.
Sooooo, naturally it fed my inclination to obsessive worrying and monitoring.
How likely is it that one's snake would get a disease with proper husbandry and care? Fortunately, there are herp vets in my area, so what about incurable diseases? I guess what I really would like to know is: how likely is it that he will live out his entire life expectancy?:( :please:
Anyone on here have really old snakes?

Luckly bps getting sick with optimal care is rare, even in less than great conditions some snakes are surprisingly healthy looking :O The only incurable disease is IBD as far as I know, and boas can harbor it so it's best to keep the two species separated.

As for life expactancy I think some of the big breeders have some older (10+ yrs) snakes that still produce eggs too. :) Plus that one from the zoo that lived to be around 40.

IBD is not the only incurable, fatal disease a python can get. It's just the most well known.

That being said...if you properly care for your snakes, they are at an extremely low risk for getting sick. Snakes exposed to long periods of extreme environmental conditions or high stress levels may develop infections of the skin or respiratory tracts, but these can almost always be treated successfully by a qualified vet.

The real risk comes when bringing outside snakes into your home and exposing your snakes to a virus they have never been exposed to before. Always get your animals from a trusted, reliable source, and always practice strict quarantine procedures to mitigate that risk. And as mentioned above, if you can, it's best to house boas and pythons in completely separate rooms, at the very least.

There are a few things like IBD that are out there. I watched one girl lose her entire collection due to an unknown strand of virus that no one was able to stop. It was terrible.

The best thing you can do is seriously seriously QUARANTINE! Next, know your breeders. Be careful when buying from unknown people, and if you do, know the risk it brings. If I were to buy from an unknown person on craigslist or something, I would probably see if I could keep the snake at another house until I was sure they were healthy!

Keep your care as good as possible! The better your care is the more you minimize variables that can lead to illness! Sure a snake might be okay with too low temps and too big prey and no humidity...for a while. But eventually one of those things is going to cause an issue. If you follow proper husbandry you no longer will have those issues and any illnesses are going to likely be from poor luck. Even the best cared for animals get sick some times(with old age, stress, etc.) so it's our job to prevent illness as much as possible, but watch out for those issues if they do get sick, and take them to the vet if it's something we can't handle!

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Originally Posted by JLC

IBD is not the only incurable, fatal disease a python can get. It's just the most well known.

That being said...if you properly care for your snakes, they are at an extremely low risk for getting sick. Snakes exposed to long periods of extreme environmental conditions or high stress levels may develop infections of the skin or respiratory tracts, but these can almost always be treated successfully by a qualified vet.

The real risk comes when bringing outside snakes into your home and exposing your snakes to a virus they have never been exposed to before. Always get your animals from a trusted, reliable source, and always practice strict quarantine procedures to mitigate that risk. And as mentioned above, if you can, it's best to house boas and pythons in completely separate rooms, at the very least.

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as much research as I've done I've never heard about the dangers of housing boas too close in proximity to BPs. I will look into this but it does present a few logistical problems for me as I live in a studio apartment.

as usual, thanks to the mods and administrators for their willingness to provide supplemental information as often as they're willing to answer random queries from the hoi polloi.

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Originally Posted by wwmjkd

as much research as I've done I've never heard about the dangers of housing boas well away from BPs. I will look into this but it does present a few logistical problems for me as I live in a studio apartment.

as usual, thanks to the mods and administrators for their willingness to provide supplemental information as often as they're willing to answer random queries from the hoi polloi.

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The risk of a IBD infection increases if you bring in new boas and house them in the same area with your pythons. IBD typically affects both pythons and baby boas very quickly. If you've had a few months go by without any issues with your current collection, then you're most likely safe.

If you practice standard quarantine with a new baby boa...and it proves to be healthy after you've owned it a few months, then it is probably fine to move to the same snake room as your pythons.

If you bring in an adult boa, however, there is no quarantine long enough to guarantee the animal is not carrying IBD. They can be carriers without symptoms for a very long time and you simply may never know.

If you MUST house boas and pythons together, you can still mitigate your risks by making sure they never share prey items, water bowls, hides, etc. The exact methods of transmission for IBD is still not certain, but most experts believe it is by contact. A snake can contaminate refused prey, or cage furniture. Mites can also become contaminated by crawling around on one snake's mouth, then moving to another snake's enclosure and crawling around. Always handle your animals separately, and wash thoroughly between each.

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Originally Posted by JLC

The risk of a IBD infection increases if you bring in new boas and house them in the same area with your pythons. IBD typically affects both pythons and baby boas very quickly. If you've had a few months go by without any issues with your current collection, then you're most likely safe.

If you practice standard quarantine with a new baby boa...and it proves to be healthy after you've owned it a few months, then it is probably fine to move to the same snake room as your pythons.

If you bring in an adult boa, however, there is no quarantine long enough to guarantee the animal is not carrying IBD. They can be carriers without symptoms for a very long time and you simply may never know.

If you MUST house boas and pythons together, you can still mitigate your risks by making sure they never share prey items, water bowls, hides, etc. The exact methods of transmission for IBD is still not certain, but most experts believe it is by contact. A snake can contaminate refused prey, or cage furniture. Mites can also become contaminated by crawling around on one snake's mouth, then moving to another snake's enclosure and crawling around. Always handle your animals separately, and wash thoroughly between each.

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again, my thanks to you, the other administrators and mods. I've had a baby boa that I recently incorporated into my snake 'room' by which I mean the largest area of my apartment. I gave him a quarantine of 6 weeks, which might be premature, but so far no problems. however, I had no idea the severity of the consequences for adult boas and balls being housed in close proximity to each other. fortunately I never re-use hides or water bowls, and as soon as my
shipment of deli cups arrives, I'll never use water bowls again (I recently bought new 4'' PVC couplers for water bowls). but any day I find out new information on this website, I'm grateful.

Thanks so much, to all who are so reassuring... I am still learning what exactly works well, as I am new and inexperienced- and there are alot of different ways of doing things and alot of different opinions on which are best. Also, what is hoi polloi?

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Originally Posted by blueberrypancakes

Thanks so much, to all who are so reassuring... I am still learning what exactly works well, as I am new and inexperienced- and there are alot of different ways of doing things and alot of different opinions on which are best. Also, what is hoi polloi?

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General public/common people :)

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Originally Posted by dragonsong93

General public/common people :)

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hoi polloi simply means us commoners. go to dictionary.com. my main point was to thank Judy and everyone else on here who helps people like me, i.e. those of us without the benefit of years of experience. I've kept snakes on and off since I was 12 but I've never had the benefit of such a great online forum until
recently.