We received the final biopsy report from Zoo/Exotic Pathology services regarding your
snake Lucy. She was diagnosed with a combination of inflammatory diseases affecting
the lung, brain, and liver. It is possible that all three of these organs are interrelated
from a virus or bacteria.
No organisms (bacteria, fungi) were observed in the examined sections. Also, the
characteristic inclusion bodies observed with Boid Inclusion Body Disease (IBD) were
not observed. It is very unlikely that IBD is the cause of the snake's problems.
There are two diseases, Paramyxovirus and Chlamydiophila, which could have
potentially caused the clinical signs and histopathology changes observed. Testing for
these two diseases will require additional special stains and/or PCR DNA probes if you
want to pursue them. Generally, the viral disease (Paramyxovirus) exhibits an inclusion
body similar to that seen in IBD and these were not observed.
Unfortunately, no conclusions or definitive diagnosis has been obtained, but it appears
that a process other than trauma caused her deterioration. Based on what we know so
far, there would have been no other treatment (other than the prednisone) to correct the
observed physical abnormalities. If you have additionakl questions, please return an
email or call us at 770 424 5484 (830am-12noon, 130pm-530pm).
Thanks, Brad Wilson, DVM