Quote Originally Posted by kitedemon View Post
Skip,
That is very interesting but it contradicts what I have understood completely.

"... (IBD) is believed to be caused by a retrovirus. This disease is usually passed from snake to snake by mites, but it can be spread through contact. Inclusion Body disease can be contracted by boas and pythons. It is always fatal. In pythons IBD quickly progresses to infect the brain and typically results in death within two to four months. In boas, the disease tends to infect all the organs of the body before reaching the endgame brain infection, so infected boas may live more than two years without showing symptoms."

Barker and Barker, BALL PYTHONS: History, Natural History, Care & Breeding 2006

I have a second reference here someplace I'll post it as soon as I can locate it. I am not discounting what you say at all, but I have understood that boas and pythons respond differently to this disease. I don't believe it is common as everyone wants it to be as according to the information I had kills quickly and requires direct contact (like pet stores often have)

As I have previously stated, Dr. Jacobson who is one of the foremost researchers on this disease has flat out stated that it lay dormant indefinitely and that it's far more common than we think.

Alex, you made reference to the Barker's. They are not vets, they are not researchers. They are snake breeders.

I can provide you a link to one of the foremost breeders of boas flat out stating in an interview that he believes IBD does not exist.

Any info coming from a breeder and not a researcher should be taken with a whole shaker of salt. Likewise any papers that are older than three or four years probably are outdated in terms of this disease.