Let's Clear Some Stuff Up About IBD

[JLC]

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

That's a pretty old report to put a lot of stock in at this time. I've got nothing but respect for the Barkers, but not a lot is known about IBD still today...more and more is being learned every year. Our understanding of the disease is evolving and what was understood in 2006 should not necessarily be taken as gospel fact today.

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

To say the Barkers are "just snake breeders" is like saying Gordon Ramsey is "just a cook." The Barkers both have advanced degrees in biology sciences and have spent many years working in the field and doing tremendous amounts of research on animals around the world. They not only have successfully published books, but also articles published in peer reviewed scientific journals. You do yourself a disservice to dismiss what they say simply because they are "just snake breeders".

I do appreciate what you're saying about IBD, though. I, too, get very tired of the boogeyman aspect of the disease and the tremendous amount of misinformation that is thrown about as hard fact. The fact is, still far too little is known about the disease. You give some anecdotal evidence of pythons being asymptomatic carriers of the disease, but did not give any actual proof. Yet, even that is now being declared as "fact" in this thread. It happens on all sides of the IBD arguments.