Quarantine

Hey guys,

I have read a lot of posts about quarantine and realize how important it is for overall well-being of any animal. However, here is my problem. I am getting a new (second) BP in a while, but I cannot quarantine her in a separate room (reasons are not so important in this case, I just simply can't). I house my BP in a enclosure, so I don't have a rack system (yet) but I think this is not the case. So what would you advise me to do in this case when I would have to keep my two BPs in one room. I am getting it from a reputable breeder, he has guaranteed me the 100% health of all his collection and offered that I can come over and have a look at his snakes, yet still I am very aware of the benefits and necessity of the quarantine process.

Thank you for your replies.

If you have no other options, like a friend or relative keeping him, you do whatever you can to mimimize any chances of spreading anything between them. If you have to keep them in the same room, then you have to work with that. Keep them as far apart as possible. Don't share any equipment like feeding tongs, hides, water bowls, etc between them. Make sure to wash/disinfect your hands when working with them. Make sure the room has plenty of ventilation.

Not everyone has a separate building, or even a separate room to set up a quarantine. You just have to work with the situation you're in. Odds are everything will be fine...

sho220 is giving some good advice.
I would also suggest as a preventative measure pre-treating the enclosure for mites with Provent-a-Mite. As mites can be a disease vector for herps
I'm not sure if a HEPA air filtration device would help in your situation but, it shouldn't hurt.
When doing cage maintenance I would bag and remove all waste immediately as well. And, absolutely no shared tools/implements used between the 2 animals.
The best bet though still is seeking a babysitter for the new snake for a few months, either someone with a proper quarantine area or no reptiles.

What sho220 said. Great advice! :gj:

so, you have one BP and you are getting a second one?

the importance of quarantine is completely dependent on the amount of reptiles you have.

with one reptile, the whole concept is meaningless. with two reptiles, quarantine should be done, but the number of reptiles that can get infected is pretty low, as in, its exactly 1.

with 10 reptiles, quarantine is really important. with 1000 or more reptiles, its extremely incredibly important.

i think having a friend babysit the BP for quarantine for months is ridiculous when we are talking about two BPs. getting a HEPA air filtration device also doesnt seem to make sense. do what you can, but when you have one BP and get a second one, its not that much of an issue. keep them as far away from each other as possible, and dont carry germs from one to the other, just do what you can.

when people have a really large collection, and they got a new ready-to-breed BP with nice genetics in quarantine, and they do not want to skip the season, the common solution is to select a partner for the BP and to bump it from the main collection down into the quarantine room, and the two can then breed and will ride out the full quarantine together. as an extreme example, when a breeder purchases his first bamboo + extra gene male for a large amount of money, he might select 4 females from his main collection and have the whole 1.4 breeding group breeding while in quarantine.

for breeders with large collections this is an acceptable compromise, because it keeps the main collection perfectly safe while it allows to start breeding the new acquisition immediately.

so i dont see why this is such a big deal with just two BPs. if you would have a large collection somewhere else, it would be acceptable to put these two together and have them ride out quarantine together, if there is a reason to do it (like: not enough quarantine space otherwise, or intention to breed). so, no need to rehome one BP for months, no need to get a HEPA filter. just keep them seperate and be smart about it and follow hygiene procedures. different tools, hand washing, dont give a rejected meal from the newcomer to the old one, keep stuff seperate.

but if you cannot pull off the kind of quarantine that a big breeder with 1000 snakes would do, dont sweat about it, you will be fine. you are risking the infection of one BP, and thats a bummer if it happens, but it could hardly be called an outbreak even if it happens. and big breeders often take that risk intentionally.

While we're on the subject of quarantine...one thing I've always wondered...

When someone routinely gets new additions coming in to their collection, these new additions go into quarantine. The clock starts. After a brief period, a new addition comes in. It goes into quarantine with the previous new addition and the clock starts for that snake. Wouldn't the clock essentially be reset for the first addition? And if this continues like this, how would any of them ever get out of quarantine? And breeders who do shows...wouldn't all the animals they take to shows have to go into quarantine after coming back? How the heck would that work?

This is why I've always hesitated to buy from someone who has a large collection, where they sell snakes they don't produce. I don't see how they could possibly be doing a proper quarantine...

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Originally Posted by sho220

While we're on the subject of quarantine...one thing I've always wondered...

When someone routinely gets new additions coming in to their collection, these new additions go into quarantine. The clock starts. After a brief period, a new addition comes in. It goes into quarantine with the previous new addition and the clock starts for that snake. Wouldn't the clock essentially be reset for the first addition?

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Yes

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And if this continues like this, how would any of them ever get out of quarantine?

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I only purchase new snakes 3-4 times per year. That keeps things easier on my wallet, plus it ensures that I'm more picky about my purchases.

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And breeders who do shows...wouldn't all the animals they take to shows have to go into quarantine after coming back? How the heck would that work?

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Keep the show/expo animals separate from the breeders and holdbacks.

Without naming names, there are breeders/dealers who breed their own, do trades, sell at shows, buy wholesale and buy imports. How the heck would quarantine work in that situation? Or are they just not QT'ing???

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Originally Posted by sho220

Without naming names, there are breeders/dealers who breed their own, do trades, sell at shows, buy wholesale and buy imports. How the heck would quarantine work in that situation? Or are they just not QT'ing???

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Yes, I have reset my clock.
I have also passed on a couple killer deals because I did not have a 3rd QT area.

I would bet MOST big names don't QT at all unless its a wild caught.

I cannot speak for breeders but, I have had to reset the clock as it were because of an unplanned acquisition and I wasn't happy about it. Especially, since I was already 2 months into the 1st QT.
My new solution has been to take over a small space in other rooms and just get more snake tools as needed..
But, I would imagine that larger breeders have done something similar with several QT areas or restrict themselves to larger, less frequent acquisitions. Well, at least the breeders that I consider "the good guys" i.e. responsible enthusiasts with a real passion for the animals they deal in.

this is getting really interesting....


but i guess for a really big breeder who follows quarantine procedures to the letter, the solution (depending on circumstances) would be something like: one quarantine room for reptile show related stuff, one quarantine room for acquisitions, and maybe a third extra room that can be used for QT if required.

and then the clocks run for each QT room independently, and you just.... somehow.... figure it out. maybe do several shows in a row, then take a break when it comes to shows so that the clock on that QT room can run out, clustering of acquisitions, taking breaks when it comes to acquisitions so that the clock on the acquisition QT room can run out. and also all the tricks, like: re-setting the clock, splitting a QT room into two areas, breeding inside QT.

thats how i imagine you would get it to work in a big professional operation. you have exposures in the form of reptile shows and acquisitions, and you have resources in the form of QT rooms. and you balance the exposures (that require QT) with the resources you have for QT, and just manage it.

theoretically, with 2 rooms for reptile show QT and 2 rooms for acquisition QT and all these in a seperate building you can pretty much do whatever you want year-round and your QT procedures will still be perfectly fine. in practise im sure it can be done with far less resources, because all exposures are a decision and can be planned ahead.

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Originally Posted by PitOnTheProwl

I would bet MOST big names don't QT at all unless its a wild caught.

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And I'd bet you're right...:)

For this reason: I have a quarantine room in my office, a hatchling (to be sold) room, and a breeder/hold-back room.

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Originally Posted by Ridinandreptiles

a hatchling (to be sold) room

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Why would you quarantine hatchlings you're going to sell? :confusd:

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Originally Posted by sho220

Why would you quarantine hatchlings you're going to sell? :confusd:

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Well, these are the hatchlings that would be going to shows, and would be more likely to be exposed to mites, etc. It's just preventative because I have the extra room.

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Originally Posted by Ridinandreptiles

Well, these are the hatchlings that would be going to shows, and would be more likely to be exposed to mites, etc. It's just preventative because I have the extra room.

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aS Someone who dose shows yourself......how often have you had issues with picking up mites at shows? And do you do any thing as far as preventative measures at the show....anti mite paper or pam ect?

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Originally Posted by SouthernVaper

aS Someone who dose shows yourself......how often have you had issues with picking up mites at shows? And do you do any thing as far as preventative measures at the show....anti mite paper or pam ect?

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I haven't had any issue for a few years, however, I use PAM religiously.

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Originally Posted by Ridinandreptiles

Well, these are the hatchlings that would be going to shows, and would be more likely to be exposed to mites, etc. It's just preventative because I have the extra room.

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Ah...that makes sense. Been a long day...I think I need more coffee...:sleepy:

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Originally Posted by SouthernVaper

aS Someone who dose shows yourself......how often have you had issues with picking up mites at shows? And do you do any thing as far as preventative measures at the show....anti mite paper or pam ect?

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When I used to go to shows, every table had hand sanitizer on it, and most sellers would ask you to use it prior to handling any animals. That along with maybe pre-treating with PAM would probably limit the chances of bringing home mites...

If I were breeding, importing, buying to resell, attending expos, etc. like the larger outfits, I would probably also make not just separate QT areas but separate buildings on the property for each group. Any employees would work only in one area to further mitigate the risk of spreading diseases.