quarantine discussion every opinion counts

[bulldog herp]

Ok, so to start things off i am dealing with a very complicated medical issue with 5 of my snakes, i am treating them with prescribed antibiotics and yes the animals were cultured. If anyone wants to read about my exact problems just find my posts. During the past month i had to take a crash course on reptile husbandry because i made some major mistakes when i bought my animals. I have researched this forum and other forums as well a medical reports, and i have came across some great tips and advice on keeping ball pythons, well reptiles in general. I also came across some things that i feel are absolutely ridiculous. I read a post by a forum member that says when she leaves the house and lets say goes to the pet store to lets say buy dog feed and there is reptiles in the store, when she gets home she takes her clothes off as soon as she walks in the door and puts them in a separate bag and washes them seperate and then immediately takes a shower her and everyone that walked into the pet store then went to her house. this one post made me laugh when reading it because i thought to myself holy cow is she serious. How in the world can i do that i enjoy my animals so much and i want my friends to enjoy them as well do i need them to fill out a questionare before they can come in. I started thinking that snakes, dogs, cats, etc all descended from wild animals but because dogs and cats where demistacted they where welcome in our homes around our friends and families with out fear of taking our clothes off when the walked in the house and immediately showering. I guess my point is that these animals have become resilient to a lot of bacterias because we didn't put them into a room and lock them away. One of the articles i read said that instead of trying to find ways to keep out reptiles isolated lets try and make them able to cope with a wide verity of situations. Now too hot or too cold yea that effects everything so yes i understand that point. I would like to hear others points of view

[bcr229]

I read a post by a forum member that says when she leaves the house and lets say goes to the pet store to lets say buy dog feed and there is reptiles in the store, when she gets home she takes her clothes off as soon as she walks in the door and puts them in a separate bag and washes them seperate and then immediately takes a shower her and everyone that walked into the pet store then went to her house.

I have several small exotic pet stores in my area as well as the better known "big box" stores. I have brought home snake mites from the big box stores so I avoid them now. Of the smaller stores, two are well-known for selling sick and/or mite-infested animals so I have never been to them. The last store gets all of my business.

That said, after attending an expo I do immediately shower and wash my clothes when I get home, because I don't know every vendor there, and some just aren't that great. It doesn't matter whether or not I touched any animals there. I only go to one or two expos per year though, so taking extra precautions when I do isn't a big deal.

this one post made me laugh when reading it because i thought to myself holy cow is she serious. How in the world can i do that i enjoy my animals so much and i want my friends to enjoy them as well do i need them to fill out a questionare before they can come in. I started thinking that snakes, dogs, cats, etc all descended from wild animals but because dogs and cats where demistacted they where welcome in our homes around our friends and families with out fear of taking our clothes off when the walked in the house and immediately showering. I guess my point is that these animals have become resilient to a lot of bacterias because we didn't put them into a room and lock them away. One of the articles i read said that instead of trying to find ways to keep out reptiles isolated lets try and make them able to cope with a wide verity of situations. Now too hot or too cold yea that effects everything so yes i understand that point. I would like to hear others points of view

It depends on the collection and how much you value it. Some people don't permit anyone near their collections, period, not only to limit the spread of diseases but also because people like to run their mouths, and just like any other valuable, you don't want it getting around that you've got a fortune in snakes... or guns... or artwork... or classic cars... at your home waiting to be stolen. It's a security issue.

OTOH I've got friends and customers for my firearm business who don't own exotic pets, who never considered owning exotic pets (mainly because their wives are against it LOL), who I don't mind checking out my snakes if they show any interest.

[distaff]

One of the reasons why I wouldn't take a snake a vet unless absolutely necessary. Vets don't shower and change clothes between clients. As for the expos, those have hundreds of herp owning people crammed in a very small space handling vendors' snakes. I expect mites and pathogens do get transferred. Not sure what the chance of bringing home mites on one's clothes actually is. If I were a vendor, I would be uneasy about the animals I brought back home. Do vendors commonly quarantine after a show?

It has never occurred to me to change clothes after purchasing mice from our local pet store. Mice are carriers of mites. That problem is one more reason I prefer F/T if the snake will take it that way.

[distaff]

FWIW, poultry farmers are in the same boat right now. After the millions of chickens and turkeys were slaughtered from disease several months ago, many poultry shows were cancelled. Farmers have been cautious for a long time - my understanding is that those belonging to the NPIP (National Poultry Improvement Program) don't allow the public to tour their facilities, and haven't for years. Many places keep disposable booties to go over shoes so disease isn't transferred via boots. Other places keep a tray full of disinfectant at the door that you step in before entering.

Do these measures help? I am honestly skeptical of the whole situation. Personally, I think a lot of the slaughter was gov. hype, but I'm just a homesteader. I don't own a commercial facility.

[gaitedappy]

The problem with mites is that you can still get them from f/t the eggs can survive the freezing and passing through the snake to hatch in the poo. Sometimes things just happen no matter how careful you are. That being said, quarantine is still very important to avoid the easily avoidable. I don't shower after a pet store, but I definitely scrub my hands and change my shirt or remove my jacket. I've only been to the one expo, but next time I will probably be a little more careful after the next one


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[Stewart_Reptiles]

Over the years I have seen a few people lose their collection partially or entirely so quarentine is priority number one around here and only got stricter and stricter.

Any new animal is quarentined for at least 90 days in a room situated on a different floor than my snake room and at the opposite side of it.

The main snake room is also sealed of and therefore the air does not circulate from other room to this one.

New additions (one at the time unless it from the same breeder) are treated for mites regarless. When I get new additions I also treat my snake room for mites not the enclosures just the room (stairway, floors etc)

If I interact with my collection and QT animal I interact with my collection first and do not go back to the main snake room after dealing with QT animals.

I do not go to pet stores, and when I go to shows which I do 5 times a year or more I always undress wash cloth immidiately, shower and wash my hair and avoid my snake room until the following day.

I also only buy from a handful of breeders that are as paranoid as I am, I don't buy from Joe Schmoe on CL.

My collection is also now completely off limit no one is allowed in the snake room but me.

It might sound over killed but it has worked for me, I have work too hard to get my collection where it is now to take any risk.

[Snake Judy]

I started thinking that snakes, dogs, cats, etc all descended from wild animals but because dogs and cats where demistacted they where welcome in our homes around our friends and families with out fear of taking our clothes off when the walked in the house and immediately showering. I guess my point is that these animals have become resilient to a lot of bacterias because we didn't put them into a room and lock them away. One of the articles i read said that instead of trying to find ways to keep out reptiles isolated lets try and make them able to cope with a wide verity of situations. Now too hot or too cold yea that effects everything so yes i understand that point. I would like to hear others points of view

There's a few problems with this comparison. Dogs and cats are prone to communicable diseases and pests as well, but since we know so much more about them, treatments are more advanced. Many serious illnesses can be vaccinated against early in life. Not so with snakes. And unlike reptile breeders, dog owners don't typically house their pets together in large groups or trade them with keepers in other states or countries. When they do cross borders, they need an array of paperwork confirming their health. Because both of these things are common practice in reptile keeping, and not particularly well-regulated, it's very easy for pathogens to be introduced and spread quickly through a collection. You don't know where all of the reptiles in the pet store came from. Some might be from disreputable breeders and some might be WC imports bringing brand new pathogens into circulation.

The idea of letting them build up a natural immunity isn't really realistic because there's no way for their systems to prepare for whatever exotic bacterial infection or virus that might show up with your next new reptile.

[SmoothScales]

....

Deborah hit it right on the nose across the board. While someone coming home from a pet store and taking a shower might be a bit out there, you have no way of knowing where the animals at the store have been. I avoid touching any animals they have while I'm there unless it looks good enough for me to seriously consider purchasing and even then when I get home I won't even go into the room my animals are in until I've washed and sanitized my hands and removed any outer layer of clothing (jacket, over shirt, etc). Not some quick little splash under the water, full on medical scrub. When I go to an expo, I carry my own hand sanitizer and any new animals go into their own room until they're clear for 90 days.

Quarantine is not a joke, either, unless you like spending lots of money on vet bills.

You want to prevent mites from over running your collection? Quarantine.
You want to keep RI from wiping out half your snakes? Quarantine.
Parasites? Quarantine.
Insert other communicable illness? Quarantine.

Are some things still going to manage to slip in? Yes, it is, but by practicing good quarantine habits you'll lower the impact on your collection.

[bulldog herp]

There's a few problems with this comparison. Dogs and cats are prone to communicable diseases and pests as well, but since we know so much more about them, treatments are more advanced. Many serious illnesses can be vaccinated against early in life. Not so with snakes. And unlike reptile breeders, dog owners don't typically house their pets together in large groups or trade them with keepers in other states or countries. When they do cross borders, they need an array of paperwork confirming their health. Because both of these things are common practice in reptile keeping, and not particularly well-regulated, it's very easy for pathogens to be introduced and spread quickly through a collection. You don't know where all of the reptiles in the pet store came from. Some might be from disreputable breeders and some might be WC imports bringing brand new pathogens into circulation.

The idea of letting them build up a natural immunity isn't really realistic because there's no way for their systems to prepare for whatever exotic bacterial infection or virus that might show up with your next new reptile.

I absolutely agree, it is far to late for this. Google psdeudomonas aeruginosa in green tree pythons they will be a forum that pops up discussing disease in captive bread reptiles. This is the article that got me thinking

[bulldog herp]

Touching yes i would 100 percent be very cautious. I am from Brooklyn Ny there are dirty pigeons and who knows what else every where you go. These are all potential hazards. There are life instances that are hard to miss. Now if i was feeding pigeons and they where flying all over me yes absolutly wash and wash good