Quarantine Question

We're heavily into the planning stages of acquiring our first ball python or two (my nine-year-old son is getting one and I'm considering a second as "my" snake), and I was curious about quarantine. At present we have 1.1 Kenyan sand boas, housed in Nicky's room, both in their own tanks. My plan was to put his future ball python in his room also, with mine (should I go that route) in the master bedroom. But I've been reading about quarantine, mites, and IBD and I'm wondering how in the world we're going to manage this space-wise, because it seems from my reading that due to our sand boas, any new additions should end up in the master bedroom for 3 months or so prior to moving my son's snake into his room.

We don't have the option of an outside building, and I think our three cats (and the dog, when he's on a bark-a-thon defending us from squirrels) would really stress out any new snake so putting them in the more public areas of the house would be inadvisable from what I've read anyway.

Is my thought line correct, or am I thinking overkill? Because if we need 3 months in my room before I can move anyone into Nicky's room, then due to space considerations I should probably nix the idea of getting my own ball for awhile. Which is fine. I'm the adult, and I can wait. But if I'm being over-cautious please let me know because I'd like to get everyone settled at one time rather than spreading it out.

I'll do what's necessary. I'm probably over-thinking all of this, but maybe not.

Never mind -- I've been reading more and I don't think anything's overkill with quarantine. My only question now is would it be better to have the quarantine spot in the master bedroom (across the hall from my son's, but low traffic and no furry pets allowed) or in the dining room, which is the farthest point in the house from my son's but shares the same air handler and is also a) in a main traffic area and b) contains The Cats.

That's all. Outside of that, I'll either figure out how to house two quarantine animals (same breeder and same time purchase only) in the same location, or limit our new animal intake to one.

i would balance new addition stress against location I would likely use the bedroom as it sounds like the new additions would be less stressed. It isn't just the health of the current snakes but also the additions. I personally run fecal exams on all new animals (and old for that matter) and often get a blood work up done too. I have also decided that new additions that came from a unknown source I had IBD tests done as well. It maybe worth considering this as part of quarantine.

If it were me I would put them in the master bedroom. Run the QT time there and then you can move them as needed. I have also gotten multiple snakes from different people at one time and they all go into QT, if you are worried about getting multiple snakes from different people Just be sure the clean your hands before and after handling either snakes, also get into the habit of normal cleanings and using a good disinfectant.

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Originally Posted by kitedemon

i would balance new addition stress against location I would likely use the bedroom as it sounds like the new additions would be less stressed. It isn't just the health of the current snakes but also the additions. I personally run fecal exams on all new animals (and old for that matter) and often get a blood work up done too. I have also decided that new additions that came from a unknown source I had IBD tests done as well. It maybe worth considering this as part of quarantine.

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Thanks -- that sounds like a good idea. I took the sand boas in to the vet the weekend after I got them and they got a clean bill of health on visual exam (the vet said they were actually some of the healthiest snakes he'd seen, yay) but the were so tiny I didn't even suggest a fecal and IBD hadn't crossed my mind at that point. When the ball python(s) hit/s our house, I'll call him and make sure he can handle the fecal and a test for IBD; if not, I'll find someone who can.

There's a heck of a learning curve. I just want to make sure I'm taking care of any animals I have properly.

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Originally Posted by EAC Reptiles

If it were me I would put them in the master bedroom. Run the QT time there and then you can move them as needed. I have also gotten multiple snakes from different people at one time and they all go into QT, if you are worried about getting multiple snakes from different people Just be sure the clean your hands before and after handling either snakes, also get into the habit of normal cleanings and using a good disinfectant.

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We're good on hand washing (I'm kind of weird about it anyway) and we definitely clean, so we'll be on track there. Thanks for the confirmation on the master bedroom and the assurance of it being okay to get animals from varying sources at the same time. Here's hoping I'll have all this straight!