Posted by:
toshamc
at Tue Mar 7 17:22:01 2006 [ Email Message ] [ Show All Posts by toshamc ]
LOL - In all honesty maybe I am wrong - maybe now they do have tests that can determine these things but from what I know about these two illnesses (and I'm far from being an expert) - I don't think you can accurately detect Crypto in balls by the usual testing methods - it's my understanding that you need to be able to look at tissue and internal organs (which can't be done on a live snake) to accurately determine if the snake has Crypto. And the tests for IBD would catch an already sick animal (I beleive it looks for high levels of certain things in the blood and various byproducts as a result of the disease) but for balls the illness is so progressive that a 3 month quarantine would most likely be long enough for the sick snake to show signs and if it were just a carrier then there wouldn't be any "byproduct" to look for. It's been a few years since I looked into this so maybe we've found new and better ways to do things, if so I would love to hear how/if other have handled it.
As for worming - no I don't do it unless the snake shows the need to. Yes they can pick up worms from their feeders and other sources, but again - if they don't show signs then there is no need to pump drugs into them Just to be on the safe side (IMO).
The best thing you can do is to follow the proper quarantine procedures (especially if you are unfamiliar with where the animal came from) and proper hygene when handling the animals.
Anyway - enough rambling - I hope all goes well with the rest of your collection!
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Tosha 
"Nihil facimus sed id bene facimus"
6.42.0 Ball Python (Harry and Fluffy and gang)
1.0.0 Angolan Python (Anakin Skywalker)
0.0.1 Green Tree Python (Verdi)
0.1.0 Bredls Python (Smurfette)
0.2.0 Feline (Pippen and Pandora)
0.0.1 Desert Tortoise (Pope John Paul aka JP )
2.2.1 Fish (1,2,3,4)
0.0.0 frogs rescued from pool skimmer
0.0.1 Lizard of unknown origin
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RE: Questions about screening - toshamc, Tue Mar 7 17:22:01 2006