IBD and how common

[Saml8]

I'm hoping IBD is not common but I'm curious how prevalent it is. It seems that I've come across a lot of videos of peoples boa's coming down with it after having them for several years.
So is this common? And is it common for people to have their boa's for many years and suddenly have them come down with this...??

[Bogertophis]

Happy to say it's NOT common, but much depends on what risks & what precautions you take. Obviously I can't comment on specific circumstances in a video
that I haven't seen, but IBD has to come from somewhere. It's not thought to lie dormant for "years" in a boa before making them sick, but it's possible that it
was transmitted to that boa from handling other people's snakes, or perhaps by sharing snake mites (also thought to be vectors of diseases like IBD) that could
have "hitched a ride" from a pet store or from an "expo" (where it seems there's always some vendor selling snakes that have mites, & when people handle them
to possibly buy them, the mites can be transferred via clothing to other snakes). So anytime you're exposed to other snakes of questionable health status, you
can help protect your own snake by not going near your own snake at home until you've showered well & changed clothes.

What makes IBD so awful (besides the symptoms & bad outcome) is the lack of available treatment, but it's not the only contagious & fatal disease that snakes
can catch. I suspect that many such fatalities have been wrongly attributed to IBD, and unless tests were done, it's just a guess, not a certainty. But for sure,
it's a concern...it's just not thought to be "common".

[Bogertophis]

I was just searching around on this, & some sources are now saying that a snake (such as a boa) CAN carry it for a couple years before becoming sick.

This is news to me so I'm sharing, not an expert on IBD...happily have never had a snake with it, or with anything remotely like it. I can see why Saml8 asked.

Excerpt from https://www.petmd.com/reptile/condit...n_body_disease
The symptoms of IBD may appear suddenly, but can also remain invisible and dormant for years, particularly in boas. Signs of IBD include:

Excerpt from https://www.wildlifehealthaustralia....13%20(1.3).pdf
"Quarantine periods as long as 13 months have been suggested but cases have occurred in snakes that were isolated fortwo years (P Holz, pers. obs.)."

[bcr229]

Not common and over-diagnosed as tests for it only became available in the last few years and most people don't bother to have their snakes necropsied; they just see that the snake has neuro issues, which can be caused by a whole host of factors (other diseases, overheating, chemical exposure, etc.), as it passes away and they jump to the conclusion that the snake had IBD.