Posted by:
wmcandrew
at Fri Jul 3 21:23:10 2009 [ Email Message ] [ Show All Posts by wmcandrew ]
A diarrhea causing parasite that reptiles, birds, and mammals are often infected by is Cryptosporidium.
It's a parasite that infects the intestinal tracts of the host. A lot of times reptiles will contract it and by the time the reptile gets noticeably sick its too late. A simple veterinary examined fecal float of the suspected animal can tell you whether they have it or not. The problem is that once detected it is extremely difficult to eradicate since crypto's oocyte's are very hardy and not susceptible to a number of chemicals used in the treatment of parasites.
This could possibly be the disease you heard of. It could wipe out a collection if not caught soon enough. The best way to determine whether your reptile is having diarrhea or not is to examine its fecal matter. If its watery and you see large intact undigested parts of prey (cricket shells intact, mouse or rat pelts, bones, tails intact) it is most often diarrhea.
Although potentially deadly cryptosporidium is not that common and often a result of reptiles ingesting dirty, poorly sanitized water. Hope this helps.
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Walter
WAR EAGLE!!!
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RE: Ball Python virus - wmcandrew, Fri Jul 3 21:23:10 2009