Quarantine question

So I'm not sure if this is a stupid question or not but I was going to setup 3 tanks for QT on ball pythons when I start to buy a few for my collection do you all recommend QT on new snakes or am I wasting my time?

lance

i am new to BP's but everything i read says yes. QT them all and if the y r sick or have mites or parasites treat them and keep them in QT for atleast 3 months if they r sick or not. even if they were from the same hatch or lived in the same enclosure when u bought them. wash ur hands before and after handling or contact with their enclosures to prevent any contamination.

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Originally Posted by mpkeelee

i am new to BP's but everything i read says yes. QT them all and if the y r sick or have mites or parasites treat them and keep them in QT for atleast 3 months if they r sick or not. even if they were from the same hatch or lived in the same enclosure when u bought them. wash ur hands before and after handling or contact with their enclosures to prevent any contamination.

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Yes, exactly, always QT any animal, no matter if you think they have infections or not. :)

Always QT. As your collection grows it also gets more expensive and it only takes one bad snake to wipe your collection out. Even if it doesnt look sick.

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Originally Posted by lance

So I'm not sure if this is a stupid question or not but I was going to setup 3 tanks for QT on ball pythons when I start to buy a few for my collection do you all recommend QT on new snakes or am I wasting my time?

lance

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You're posting this on a forum??? The QT police will be all over this.:D

Big Gunns thinks you should QT, but there can be some extenuating circumstances that might require a different approach. BG doubts anyone on here will have such a case though.

QT for sure.:gj:

How often and exactly do you bath a snake and with what?

any links to it online of threads here?

lance

Other than basic soaking if a snake needs help with shedding I only "wash" snakes if they get poo on them or when I take the eggs from the females and I am resetting the cage. I use chlorhexi or baby shampoo if I need suds.

60 day quarantine to be safe

Is quarantine necessary if you buy from reputable breeder?

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Originally Posted by DarkComeSoon

Is quarantine necessary if you buy from reputable breeder?

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60 days just to be safe. . . any breeder will tell you that.

Why spend all that money on a nice morph and then not quarantine?

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Originally Posted by DarkComeSoon

Is quarantine necessary if you buy from reputable breeder?

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yep, cuz anyone could have a snake or two that got sick.

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Originally Posted by DarkComeSoon

Is quarantine necessary if you buy from reputable breeder?

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That all comes down to personal preference.

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Originally Posted by DarkComeSoon

Is quarantine necessary if you buy from reputable breeder?

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My friend didn't quarantine his new snake he got from a reputable breeder this summer....after about 5 weeks and several thousands of dollars we got rid of the mites. :O

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Originally Posted by Big Gunns

You're posting this on a forum??? The QT police will be all over this.:D

Big Gunns thinks you should QT, but there can be some extenuating circumstances that might require a different approach. BG doubts anyone on here will have such a case though.

QT for sure.:gj:

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LOL BG like those CANDY BALLS you have!! The QT police were all over you for that one too!

Its always the best idea to QT new animals. If you know what signs to look for you should know within a month if you have a sick snake but it can be very subtle. Its also good to get to know its feeding habits and give plenty of acclimation time even if its totally healthy. For some snakes the stress of the move can bring out sickness that otherwise would have gone un noticed.

ALWAYS QT! In addition to keeping them in separate cages, I keep a perimeter of 7 dust outside the cage/rack. That way if the snake has mites, when the little devils try to go from one rack to the other, they have to crawl through it and get themselves killed in the process.

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Originally Posted by DarkComeSoon

Is quarantine necessary if you buy from reputable breeder?

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Yes ....you just never know. They could be coming down with an RI that even the breeder did not catch. They could have a number of other illnesses that were not detected. You just never know. I would and I am sure you would as well be devastated if something happened one of the snakes.


There is an AMAZING how to sheet on Quarantine on here.

I also might add that when you go to a reptile show it is also good to come home, take a shower and change clothes. I know it sounds paranoid....but you never know what you could bring home and not even know it.

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Originally Posted by CritterVet

My friend didn't quarantine his new snake he got from a reputable breeder this summer....after about 5 weeks and several thousands of dollars we got rid of the mites. :O

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this is why i LOVE my prevent-a-mite. :O

Always always always QT! When I first started I'll admit I thought the QT was a bunch of wasted time and space. I didn't do it. I got mites once and since then decided to QT. Good thing I did because about two years later I picked up a snake that had IBD and it died while in my QT, although not before infecting the other snakes I had in my QT, all in all I lost 20 ball pythons and the albino red tail that came into my QT. If I didn't keep my QT strict from the lessen I learned from the mites I once got, I would have not only lost the 20 new ball pythons I purchased, but my entire collection. Anyone who doesn't QT is an idiot, IMO. I'll QT anything that comes into my collection, regardless if I get it from craigslist or Ralph Davis.