Has anyone heard of this....

[L.West]

I was at the Taylor Show this weekend and one of the vendors selling frozen rodents told me that if you feed your snake live rodents you run a high risk of them dieing from some virus (cryptosporium??) something like that.

I had never heard about this - is this true?? I breed my own feeders so I know how they are kept, fed and watered - is this something to worry about.

[Freakie_frog]

Never heard of that. Crypto from my understanding is a water born critter that anyone people, animals, snakes anything can get and it comes from tainted drinking water.

[L.West]

Yes, he did explain that it comes from the water but I then stated that I keep my water bottles very clean and disinfected so this shouldn't be a problem.

So, you agree that if you keep your rodents in sanitary conditions with very clean water - that this should not be a concern??

Needless to say, I was a little worried by what he was telling me.

Thanks for the help.

[CatandDiallo]

Well, I don't know anything about this but from what I can tell, many people who have large collections of snakes feed live. Add them up together and that's probably tens of thousands of snakes being fed live on a regular basis.
Now, I've never heard anyone who I know, or anyone on any forum talking about this disease (so either it doesn't affect them, or it is not a very large issue if it does exist).

I don't want to make this guy who was selling frozen rodents out to be a bad guy, but maybe he was telling you this so you would buy some of his frozen feeders?

Just an idea.

[snakesRkewl]

I don't want to make this guy who was selling frozen rodents out to be a bad guy, but maybe he was telling you this so you would buy some of his frozen feeders?

Just an idea.

This!

[AK907]

Well, I don't know anything about this but from what I can tell, many people who have large collections of snakes feed live. Add them up together and that's probably tens of thousands of snakes being fed live on a regular basis.
Now, I've never heard anyone who I know, or anyone on any forum talking about this disease (so either it doesn't affect them, or it is not a very large issue if it does exist).

I don't want to make this guy who was selling frozen rodents out to be a bad guy, but maybe he was telling you this so you would buy some of his frozen feeders?

Just an idea.

Agreed.

We feed live. Always have. We don't really have a large collection (17 at the moment), but we have never had a problem and I don't know anyone personally who has either. I don't think it is an issue I would worry about too much.

My first thought when I read the OP was the same as yours. This guy sounds like he is just trying to play the OP for a fool make an easy sale feeding them those lies.

[L.West]

That thought crossed my mind also. I have some snakes that will take f/t but a couple that simply refuse so I must offer live. I also use bottled water for my rodents so I know it is clean.

I just wanted to put that out on this forum to see what you all knew about it.

Thanks for all the input.

[babyknees]

I've heard of crypto in relation to colubrids. I know nothing about it other than that.

[Evenstar]

As its already been mentioned, crypto can be contracted from drinking water soiled from feces. Rodents kept in unsanitary conditions may be at higher risk. Any animal can contract it. This is why it's so important to get your rodents from a reputable source (or breed them yourself). Interestingly, freezing the rodents does NOT necessarily kill the virus/bacterium. If the rodent already has the virus, then its there no matter what. So the guy telling you this was not telling you the whole truth.

There is no need to worry though. This virus is not common in snakes and if you are familiar with and comfortable with your rodent supply source (which you would be if you breed them yourself), this should never be an issue. Thousands of people feed many thousands of snakes live prey and do not have any issues. I think your snakes will be just fine!

[Evenstar]

Incidentally, here is a site with some additional limited information on cryptosporidium...

http://www.avianbiotech.com/diseases...osporidium.htm

This disease is more common in birds and geckos - particularly leos - than in snakes.