Yes. Inclusions in themselves may or may not indicate that IBD, a retrovirus, is present. Further diagnostic measures are necessary to confirm that diagnosis.

I once sold a Brazilian Rainbow Boa to a fellow at a show. He had effectively killed it within 15 minutes after the sale by placing the deli cup, with snake inside, in his car. When he returned 20 minutes later and told me his snake "needed a drink". After seeing the pretzel in the deli cup, I told him - "You have just killed your snake". I sprayed it with water and steam arose. He explained to me his snake would be fine. A couple days later the guy calls me up and tells me his snake died of IBD and he wanted another. That in itself makes no sense. Why would he want another of my IBD infected Brazilian Rainbow Boas? He had taken the dead animal to the vet and the vet had pronounced it had died from IBD on examination. While the dead animal was severely contorted and obviously neuromuscularly afflicted, it had died of heat stroke, not IBD. That snake and it's sibling were both stretched out on my arm straight as arrows when the guy was deciding which one to buy/kill.

My point being -- sometimes a little more investigation is required.

As always, a true story. I've got a million of them. If I told them all, Gods would be falling from Heaven.

jsc
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"As hard as I've tried, just can't NOT do this"

John Crickmer

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