Quote Originally Posted by starmom View Post
skiploader: I now understand that your passion on this subject is rooted in your current experiences. I am so very sorry this drama is happening to your snakes.

It is really difficult to post any numbers or statistics given that there has been such a lack of reliable and duplicated research on all things not warm and fuzzy; ie. snakes and etc.

However, what has changed for you? You practiced good husbandry, your other snakes are fine, your boas are in QT but thus far all tests have come back negative.... I must be missing something. I would think that after 5 years, if IBD were airborn (even for just this one time) your other snakes would have gotten the virus.....

I don't know; I really think I'm missing something that you're saying... and so I take responsibility for that.

I still maintain that boas obtained from clean and reliable breeders, strict and long QT periods, and excellent husbandry skills, Ball and boas can be kept within the same building without adverse effects.

I have a dedicated herp building. The dwarf boas were moved 6 months ago from a 41 qt rack to 3x2 cages. I sanitized the racks, and moved the smaller pythons into it.

The boas have always been in a separate room (albeit in the same building). The manner of transmission (if it ever turns out that they have IBD) would be either airborne, from aerosolized particles on my clothing, or from the rack.

A biopsy on another organ may be in order. All but two of my male pythons in the rack are now shedding and eating regularly. My options are to wait until another animal shows signs and have it biopsied or wait and see if one of the pythons succumbs.

My dwarves came from a very respected breeder. He and I have talked and at this point I'm not ready to accuse him of anything. As I am finding out, and as reports have now indicated, any where from 33 to 50% of necropsied boas have tested positive for the disease. I just don't like those odds - especially when you take into account that a boa can live with the disease and potentially not show symptoms for a very, very long time.