Quarantine

[Pennstater6]

So I will be getting my spider ball for Christmas and am wondering about quarantine. My father owns the pet store that I am getting the snake from. I know that there are no mites. Can I bypass a full quarantine and just wash my hands before handling my other snake? Any other thoughts?

[Pennstater6]

I don't think I explained it fully enough. I have been working with this snake for a few weeks and personally inspected it for mites and RIs etc. It eats fine and had a good shed a few weeks ago. If I still have to quarantine, is there any alternative to it? Can I take precautions without quarantine?

[Pennstater6]

Double post

[snakesRkewl]

Quarantine is a must do, no questions asked, and it's twice as important coming from a pet store.
There's absolutely no way you can guarantee the snakes in any pet store are mite free and or RI free.
Customers who own snakes come in and in many cases handle the snakes to see if they'd like to buy them.
You can't guarantee those people don't have mites on their snakes at home or worse yet, a bacterial RI.
It should be "standard operating procedure" for any snake you bring into a home that has other snakes or reptiles.

[Pennstater6]

Quarantine is a must do, no questions asked, and it's twice as important coming from a pet store.
There's absolutely no way you can guarantee the snakes in any pet store are mite free and or RI free.
Customers who own snakes come in and in many cases handle the snakes to see if they'd like to buy them.
You can't guarantee those people don't have mites on their snakes at home or worse yet, a bacterial RI.
It should be "standard operating procedure" for any snake you bring into a home that has other snakes or reptiles.

I'm not sure I was 100% clear on the details. This snake is coming from my father's store. One that I can personally guarantee that all reptiles are mite free. I'm in there all the time and have worked with this snake for a couple weeks. I really don't have enough room to quarantine in another room. Can I do it in the same room? If I do it in the same room what extra precautions should I take?

[interloc]

Yes quarantine! It doesn't matter where it came from. A person who sanitizes every minute and showers 3 times a day can still carry colds, flu, and STDs around. I'm not trying to be a jerk here, but you asked a question, got the right answer, yet you still try and dispute it. Just because you didn't get the answer you wanted to hear, doesn't mean it's wrong. I was all like "pfft quarantine". Then POOF mites. Everywhere. I've been caught once by not quarantining. Never again. Fool me once shame on you. Fool me twice shame on me.

Ideally you should quarantine in a separate room and don't handle the quarantined snake all that much. Things can be transferred on clothing. Some people even go as far as separate feeding tongs and stuff like that. My opinion. Quarantine the snake for minimum, MINIMUM 30 days. Most people will tell you 3 months. No handling unless for cleaning and what not, and when you do, change clothes and straight into the wash for them. Just to avoid any cross contamination. May seem extreme but its worth it in the end. Lots of people have very expensive snakes and all these steps are mandatory to protect their investment.

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[Pennstater6]

Yes quarantine! It doesn't matter where it came from. A person who sanitizes every minute and showers 3 times a day can still carry colds, flu, and STDs around. I'm not trying to be a jerk here, but you asked a question, got the right answer, yet you still try and dispute it. Just because you didn't get the answer you wanted to hear, doesn't mean it's wrong. I was all like "pfft quarantine". Then POOF mites. Everywhere. I've been caught once by not quarantining. Never again. Fool me once shame on you. Fool me twice shame on me.

Ideally you should quarantine in a separate room and don't handle the quarantined snake all that much. Things can be transferred on clothing. Some people even go as far as separate feeding tongs and stuff like that. My opinion. Quarantine the snake for minimum, MINIMUM 30 days. Most people will tell you 3 months. No handling unless for cleaning and what not, and when you do, change clothes and straight into the wash for them. Just to avoid any cross contamination. May seem extreme but its worth it in the end. Lots of people have very expensive snakes and all these steps are mandatory to protect their investment.

Sent from my iPhone 5 using Tapatalk

No I wasn't trying to dispute I was just clarifying. I didn't know if there was an exception. Can I quarantine in the same room? I don't have another room available. If so, is there any extra precautions I should take other than what you just mentioned? I really don't want to hurt my other snake but have to work with what I got.

[don15681]

you asked a question and the members gave you the correct answer. your trying to find a way around it. the answer is, not everyone will quarantine. it the best thing you can do to protect your other snakes. anything short of it you're adding more risk. so if you keep them in the same room. yes washing your hands, keeping the room and both enclosure spotless, handling the new addition last. feeding the new addition last. even treating the enclosure for the new snake with pam (follow the directions that on the can) all will help. but quarantine is best. even with quarantine there's still risk. sounds like you only have one other snake. I have over 100, most are worth more than a grand. so you can see why quarantine and husbandry is so important.

[Pennstater6]

Alright, I'm gonna do my best to have a quarantine in the same room. One last question though, what is the difference if I keep in the same room or in a different room? It's not like I change my clothes when going to a different room. I understand it's better but why?

[satomi325]

I honestly would not quarantine in the same room. That defeats the purpose of quarantine. Many illnesses and even mite nymphs are airborne. I know you said the snakes are mite free, but I was just putting it out there.

You have to use totally different set of tools and supplies. You don't want to cross contaminate tools such as tongs, water dishes, scale, and even feeders. You want to work with your established collection before you work with the quarantined animal. That way you can't expose that new animal to the residents.

And I believe 30 days is much too short for a Q-period. I do mine for a minimum of 6 months. Some members even do a full year quarantine. Illnesses and disease can lay dormant for months before becoming active. Much longer than 30 days....