Crypto in my collection, please advise

[Nellasaur]

At the beginning of this year, our corn snake Tezzeret started regurgitating his meals. I've spent the last several months collaborating with our herp vet and fighting to nurse him through it, with no success. At our appointment with the vet tonight, he was differentially diagnosed with cryptosporidosis. The infection had already progressed to the point that his kidneys were affected, so we made the hard decision to have him euthanized before he lost any more weight or got any weaker.

I know crypto is incredibly contagious. I'm going to bring our other snake, a ball python, in for an initial PCR test since it's likely he's been exposed.

My question is how worried do I need to be about cross-contamination from the corn snake(s) to our collection of lizards (mostly rhac geckos, one skink)? My fiancee and I practice decent hygiene between our animals, but I have to admit it's not impeccable. Though I generally clean lizard items separate from snake items, there's still a decent possibility that lizard dishes and snake dishes have been washed together at the same time.

I'm trying not to freak out here but I'm freaking out a little here. How much freaking out is appropriate in this situation?

[RickyNY]

Sorry to hear that man! I can't be of any help to you... I don't know much about crypto.
But I wish you all the luck and hope your other animals don't get it.

[Bogertophis]

I'm SO sorry you are having to deal with this. I've not had this battle in my many years of keeping mostly snakes & some lizards, so I can't advise you based on
personal experience....maybe someone else here can?

You may have already searched & found this, it seems informative: http://azeah.com/reptiles-amphibians...iosis-reptiles

[Bogertophis]

A few others: https://www.richmondvets.co.uk/crypt...hidden-killer/

http://www.goldengategeckos.com/crypto.htm

The way I read this, just washing their dishes together seems unlikely to share the infection, assuming you washed & rinsed them thoroughly.

On the other hand, some can apparently carry this for some time without symptoms, so you should probably assume all your animals are exposed
and that your corn snake may even have been exposed from another reptile in your collection if you handled them one after another. I guess you'll
have to keep watching for symptoms? What did your vet advise?

Rest in Peace, Tezzeret.

[bcr229]

Unfortunately I know way too much about crypto. Thankfully the snake I dealt with never left QT before being diagnosed so I only lost the one.

Crypto is highly contagious, incurable, and incredibly durable; most antiseptics don't kill it, though since the oocysts are fairly large physical removal through washing with soap and water does work. Ammonia kills it, as does highly-concentrated hydrogen peroxide.

Unfortunately fecal tests for the oocysts can show a false negative so it may take 3-4 tests to detect it. It is easily detected in a necropsy.

Transmission is fecal-oral and it's rampant at pet shops that co-hab lizards; an infected lizard will poop, another will step in it and then run through the water bowl or a feeder insect like a cricket will step in the poop and then get eaten, and boom they've all got it.

Going forward here is what I would do in your situation:

Close your collection: nothing new comes in and nothing goes out for a year.

Hopefully your critters are all living alone, not in colonies. If you are cohabbing then the animals must be separated ASAP.

Keep the enclosures scrupulously clean. I would put everything on paper instead of natural substrate, and when the critter makes a mess, all of the paper comes out, the enclosure is disinfected, fresh paper goes in, etc. Wear disposable gloves when cleaning messes, and change them before moving on to the next enclosure.

Food and water bowls should be run through the dishwasher on the hottest possible cycle, not hand washed.

Get everything tested. Yes you can get false negatives but you don't get false positives.

[Craiga 01453]

I unfortunately have no experience with crypto, so can't offer advice.

I did want to stop in to say I'm sorry to hear of your situation and wish you and your animals all the best. Good luck, my best wishes are being sent your way.

[Nellasaur]

Unfortunately I know way too much about crypto. Thankfully the snake I dealt with never left QT before being diagnosed so I only lost the one.

Crypto is highly contagious, incurable, and incredibly durable; most antiseptics don't kill it, though since the oocysts are fairly large physical removal through washing with soap and water does work. Ammonia kills it, as does highly-concentrated hydrogen peroxide.

Unfortunately fecal tests for the oocysts can show a false negative so it may take 3-4 tests to detect it. It is easily detected in a necropsy.

Transmission is fecal-oral and it's rampant at pet shops that co-hab lizards; an infected lizard will poop, another will step in it and then run through the water bowl or a feeder insect like a cricket will step in the poop and then get eaten, and boom they've all got it.

Going forward here is what I would do in your situation:

Close your collection: nothing new comes in and nothing goes out for a year.

Hopefully your critters are all living alone, not in colonies. If you are cohabbing then the animals must be separated ASAP.

Keep the enclosures scrupulously clean. I would put everything on paper instead of natural substrate, and when the critter makes a mess, all of the paper comes out, the enclosure is disinfected, fresh paper goes in, etc. Wear disposable gloves when cleaning messes, and change them before moving on to the next enclosure.

Food and water bowls should be run through the dishwasher on the hottest possible cycle, not hand washed.

Get everything tested. Yes you can get false negatives but you don't get false positives.

Thank you for responding, I appreciate it a lot. My partner and I will be putting much stricter hygiene protocols between cages into place immediately, you can be sure of that.

Thankfully, all of our herps live alone except for one pair of crested geckos who are cohabbed. I've always wanted to keep them separate, partially for pathogen control; maybe that will serve me well now? I will have to see about getting an enclosure to separate those two cresties.

Testing is happening ASAP for the other snake, since I know he's at the most risk for infection, and then I'll be going forward with the rest of the lizards as budget allows. Is PCR testing still the best diagnostic tool in reptiles, or should I be asking my vet for something else? Do you have any idea about the likelihood of transmission from the snakes to the lizards? I know C. serpentis is in snakes and C. saurophilum in lizards but I don't know if those species are exclusive or if they can cross.

[Nellasaur]

A few others: https://www.richmondvets.co.uk/crypt...hidden-killer/

http://www.goldengategeckos.com/crypto.htm

The way I read this, just washing their dishes together seems unlikely to share the infection, assuming you washed & rinsed them thoroughly.

On the other hand, some can apparently carry this for some time without symptoms, so you should probably assume all your animals are exposed
and that your corn snake may even have been exposed from another reptile in your collection if you handled them one after another. I guess you'll
have to keep watching for symptoms? What did your vet advise?

Rest in Peace, Tezzeret.

Thank you for the links-- they were helpful-- and the kind words. I appreciate it.

[Nellasaur]

Thank you to everyone else for your kind words and well-wishes. Our collection is small, but the animals mean so much to us. I'm terrified we might end up losing them all.

We buried Tezzeret today, near other pets who have passed on in our care. (None from anything like this.) It was a damn hard thing to do.

[Bogertophis]

The worst thing about keeping pets is having to say goodbye to them, especially under such sad circumstances. Truly hope you have no more losses.