Quote Originally Posted by potatofloss View Post
Hello all! I currently have one Ball Python and am thinking about buying a Red Tail Boa. I know Boa's can carry IBD their whole life without showing symptoms. I live in a small studio apartment and as it is, would not be able to provide adequate quarantine measures. I was planning on buying the Boa at the upcoming November White Plains reptile expo, from a reputable breeder. Is it not a good idea? Please chime in with any personal experience about housing boas and pythons in the same area. Thanks!

(Posted this in the BP Husbandry forum also )
The jury is still out on the quarantine period - especially when dealing with animals that can be asymptomatic, ie: boas.

My vet was telling me of a a client who brought in a carpet python and a ball python that were both showing classic signs of IBD. Liver biopsies were performed on both animals which confirmed IBD.

Here's the kicker, this person had not added a new animal to his collection in three years - the last animal being the ball python.

So where did the virus come from? Well it turns out that the client's 4 year old Nicaraguan boa later tested positive for the disease and has been technically asymptomatic for four years. The only possible clue may have been a sub-clinical infection that had been treated with antibiotics two years ago. The animals had been kept in different parts of the house - the carpet was a display animal in the living room, the ball python - a child's pet and the boa in the study.

The vet thinks that the ball python caught the disease when a food item refused by the boa was fed to the ball, and how the carpet finally caught it is anybody's guess.

The point is that the old guidelines about 6 month or one year quarantine periods may not be valid when dealing with asymptomatic carriers.

The boa apparently is still alive and still not showing any signs of infection. Both the carpet and ball had to be put down.