Snake Vaccinations

[greenmamba]

Please excuse if this is a silly question.

Do snakes require vaccinations or vet visits like cats and dogs?

Is there any concern of transfers of diseases to humans or other pets in the house?

Cheers.

[OhhWatALoser]

There are few sicknesses snakes can get

most common problems are mites and RI, both can usually be avoid by following correctly husbandry procedure. Mites can are like fleas or ticks, they latch on to things but they need a snake host, so simple things like quarantine and washing your hands/change clothes when you go to a reptile show can go a long way. If you know what to look for with RI, it rarely gets to the point where they need to go to a vet.

there are other things like IBD but vets can't even do anything about it.

but as far as vaccination, i don't think they exist for snakes and vet visits aren't needed unless something bad is going on you can't treat yourself. I've herd of some people doing yearly check ups, but most people don't.

Transfer just wash your hands if you have a sick snake so other don't get sick, already told you about mites, wash your hands after visiting other people's collection. but if you or your dog is sick, it won't effect the snake.

[BPelizabeth]

I agree with Oh....

There is the possibility of somanella (pretty sure I butchered that spelling) but I have never gotten it. Just good practice to keep it all clean and wash your hands.

IBD is a virus that will kill your BPs it is carried by Boa's so its a good thing to not keep the two together as a boa can live with it and transfer it to your BP. There is a "test" to see if your boa is a carrier although its not 100% accurite and it is dangerous.

As far as a shot ....I have heard of a "mite shot"...Jim brought it up in another thread after he read about it. Quite frankly....I think its hocus pocus. Kind of like some of that "water enhancer" for color. icky!!

[Shadera]

My vet visits once a year, and has a general look over all my animals (snakes and birds). Other than that, I take them in when I notice something going on that I'd like her to have a better look at. But thankfully, proper care makes issues worthy of vet visits rare.

There aren't any vaccinations (that I've heard of), but like the others have said be on the lookout for mites. They can be easily treated and then prevented using one of any number of products you can buy. If wild caught, or from a questionable background, an internal anti-parasitic might be a good idea too.

And again like the others have said, but it's always great advice, wash wash wash. Sanitize surfaces as you clean, too.

[OhhWatALoser]

There is the possibility of somanella (pretty sure I butchered that spelling) but I have never gotten it. Just good practice to keep it all clean and wash your hands.

this would be a good example of something that doesn't harm reptiles at all but can make us mammals sick. I thought it was mostly turtles that carried it, wasn;t there a big scare like 30 years ago or something? lol I don't think its a problem anymore, but like said above, wash wash wash

[David802]

I agree with Oh....

There is the possibility of somanella (pretty sure I butchered that spelling) but I have never gotten it. Just good practice to keep it all clean and wash your hands.

As far as a shot ....I have heard of a "mite shot"...Jim brought it up in another thread after he read about it. Quite frankly....I think its hocus pocus. Kind of like some of that "water enhancer" for color. icky!!

Theres the possibility of salmonella with just about any animal you own. Dogs, cats, snakes, mice, they can all carry it. Snakes just get a bad rap because there "icky".

You're probably talking about Ivermectin shots which are very real. Ivermectin is used for just about every type of mite you can name and is so common they sell it at farm supply stores. (At least around here).

I've heard of vets giving Ivermectin shots as preventive medicine. Although I've never been able to find anything that says it would actually keep your snake from getting mites if it was introduced to them. I honestly highly doubt it since to properly treat a snake with mites using Ivermectin you need to give the snake 1 shot a week for 3 weeks... Seems like if it could be used as a preventive measure you'd only need one shot.

David

[David802]

Sorry for the double post, it wouldn't let me edit my post again.

I pulled this out of a Quarantine room post I made some time last week. I've always wondered why more people don't suggest taking there snake to the vet when they get mites.. Everybody says PAM but and keep the cage clean. Maybe I'm missing something.

This is just some more info on Ivermectin and snakes.

Ivermectin is considered a safe and effective method of removing ticks and mites for many kinds of animals. In fact you can purchase liquid Ivermectin at some farm stores....

Please note I think its a VERY BAD idea to acquire it and try do it yourself. It is something that should only be done by a trained professional.

You have to know exactly how much to use for your snake (Based on weight), it also has to be injected subcutaneously. Depending on the size of the snake you may also have to dilute the liquid Ivermectin which from what I remember isn't as simple as adding a little water. If your snake doesn't react the way it should to the drug things could go very bad very quickly. At a Vet the doctor has things he or she can do if something unexpected happens, he will also be able to react and quickly diagnose any problems that occur.... In essence what I'm saying is, this isn't as simple as "give the snake an aspirin and call me in the morning".

Also, Ivermectin has been known to cause neurological symptoms in some species of snakes, it also can breach the blood brain barrier in other species of snakes. (All though BP's and Boa's are not among the species on that list.)

Please remember I'm NOT a vet... I just have a good memory, I read a number of articles on Ivermectin during a mite scare a few months ago. (I got worried because my Boa spent 3 days solid in his water bowl soaking). Turned out to be a hide issue, but I fixed that and its all good now =D

That's just what I remember about it, someone else may be able to shed more light on the subject.

[wolfy-hound]

Ivemectrin is also used to prevent heartworms in dogs. It's taken orally, once a month, you probably see it listed as "Heartgard", and it's also a livestock wormer(cattle predominantly).

I would not use ivomectrin injected into any animal without a vet approval. I would not rely on someone 'thinking' they remember that it's bad for some snakes but not thinking that certain pet species were actually listed. I will probably be asking the vet that works next to me about the possibility of using ivomectrin on snakes, just because it has me curious. I've read a lot about ivomectrin myself.. but I wouldn't rely on my memory of it either, lol.

Any snake having a reaction would be enough for me to simply use the PAM spray instead to treat mites, or even just spray all the cages maybe once a year, just to prevent any possible infestation, as opposed to using a injection(or even oral) drug that isn't prescribed on a regular basis for snakes.

I don't know of any vaccinations at all for snakes. A yearly checkup is a nice thing, although not many of the people I know do so. Salmonella is also often present in chicken and most raw meats and also in eggs. Reptiles just get a bad reputation over it. After all, the two most recent outbreaks I can think of were on vegetables, not critters.

My $0.02

[David802]

I would not use ivomectrin injected into any animal without a vet approval. I would not rely on someone 'thinking' they remember that it's bad for some snakes but not thinking that certain pet species were actually listed.

I hope that my irritability is simply making me read more into this than is necessary... How ever I SPECIFICALLY SAID and I quote

It is something that should only be done by a trained professional.

Any idiot that tries to give a snake Ivermectin on there own deserves what they get. Further more, the information I provided was in response to someone asking if the shot was safe for snakes in general.

I don't know what you where 'thinking' but no where did I or anyone else suggest that someone go out and purchase Ivermectin and a horse syringe from a store and slam it into there snakes. I don't like your insinuations and I'll thank you to read my posts more carefully in the future.