Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Ok well two very different questions lol.

First of all is how long must damp moss be "nuked" for to kill moss spores? I know we had a quite active discussion on it a while back but it was awhile ago and I wanted to find out what worked for those of you who have been using this method of sterilization.

Secondly, I was wondering what suggestions you all had for Q-room or accomodations for incoming snakes. I have numerous new snakes coming in the next month. I am not really worried about internal parasites or illness because they are all CBB and because of the breeders that I am getting them from but that does not mean they might not arrive with mites or something similar.

What type of setup is best for quaruntine? How long shgould they be kept there given the animals are CBB and from reliable sources? Any other miscellaneous tips for quarantine?

Normally I wouldn't worry so but with this many animals arriving I can not just place a solitary enclosure in a different room/house for a while like I normally would until I knew the animal was safe. Toss on top of that not wanting to risk anything that might impact the health of one of my colubrid pairs worth several thousand and I'm just a we bit more cautious this season.

Any info is greatly appreciated,

Sean.

YES, you should quarantine ALL new acquisitions no matter WHO you get them from. A good/great/steller reputation does not mean there is absolutely no possibility of unwanted bugs after shipping.

I feel quarantine should be at least a month for relatively newbron babies and around three months for an older animal. Of primary importance is protecting your existing collection from any contamination be it bugs or other illnesses.

I keep all my collection in a downstairs bedroom (planning on making a second room in the garage and will have seperate BRB and BCI rooms. Upstairs I have a small area in another bedroom set up as the quarantine area. Made a small rack with three shelves. Each shelf can have two 15 quart tubs or one 32 quart tub. Also have a half stack of boaphiles for larger animals. Current setup is maxed out at 9 animals. If I need more, I'd move in more cages.

For quarantine I'm looking for mites, the Q-room has seen three different outbreaks over the last two years. Each time from new acquisitions. Two of the three times were caught at arrival. The third and most recent was missed on initial inspection and therefore was worse due to my lack of dilligence in treating for mites. Had I known there were mite(s) I would have done more, my fault. The latest outbreak appears to be under control now.

Am also looking for any other illness but so far (knock on wood) have not seen any other problems. The tubs all have white paper towels. Use provent-a-mite on enclosures and reptile relief on snakes for those with (or suspected) mites.

I always care for the main collection FIRST, then last thing for the day check in on and care for the Q-room. Point being I never go from the Q-room to mthe main room.

This last time when I knew I had mites and had other babies coming in I set up a second quarantine area for the new ones. No sense exposing the new babies to mites. I cared for them in-between main room and Q-room.
-----
Thanks,

Dave Colling

www.rainbows-r-us-reptiles.com

0.1 Wife (WC and still very fiesty)
0.2 kids (CBB, a big part of our selective breeding program)

LOL, to many snakes to list, last count:
24.36 BRB
19.19 BCI
And those are only the breeders

lots.lots.lots feeder mice and rats

I know to spray provent a mite on the enclosure but should I also spray the surrounding floor/furniture as well? Also do I need to worry about water or food touching sprayed surfaces? I assume some of this info is in the directions with the can but I don't have it yet so thought would ask the voice of experience so to speak.

PS: none of the new acquisitions are high humidity herps so I only water bowl exposure not spraying water exposure.

Sean.

Not sure if you spray on the furniture but I ran out of it other wise I would read the bottle for you Sean but I primarily spray entry points of the viviariums like the edging and the edging of my tubs for my racks also Hope this helps you but maybe Dave or Jeff will shine more light on the subject for us or even Mike since he bought some bottles of it at Daytona
Bob

If you have a heavy infestation then by all means spry the carpets etc. For most preventative cases then spraying entry pi=oints is sufficient to keep them from spreading. If you do in fact have them, IMO a more comprehensiz=ve spraying plan is in order.

>>Not sure if you spray on the furniture but I ran out of it other wise I would read the bottle for you Sean but I primarily spray entry points of the viviariums like the edging and the edging of my tubs for my racks also Hope this helps you but maybe Dave or Jeff will shine more light on the subject for us or even Mike since he bought some bottles of it at Daytona
>>Bob
-----
Thanks,

Dave Colling

www.rainbows-r-us-reptiles.com

0.1 Wife (WC and still very fiesty)
0.2 kids (CBB, a big part of our selective breeding program)

LOL, to many snakes to list, last count:
24.36 BRB
19.19 BCI
And those are only the breeders

lots.lots.lots feeder mice and rats

No I don't have them currently and don't expect the incoming animals to have them but am setting up the Q-room as a preventative measure in a different house. Just wasn't sure if spraying the insides of the tubs and the enclosure would be sufficient to kill off any that might arrive with the new snakes.

Sean.

Sean,
..I do not know for sure how long would be needed to kill mold spores. My guess is that 5 to 10 minutes would kill 99 % of them and that that would be very effective in providing much much less growth of mold.
..I brought home two new snakes from Daytona and they are in quarantine for at least two months. They along with the few animals that did not sell at the show got a shot of Provent-a-mite before they even came out of the shipping boxes I carried them in. Mites are more of a problem the more animals that move through a collection. Many of the bigger names in the reptile business buy and sell lots of animals and so they are at risk for mites.
Jeff

>>Ok well two very different questions lol.
>>
>>First of all is how long must damp moss be "nuked" for to kill moss spores? I know we had a quite active discussion on it a while back but it was awhile ago and I wanted to find out what worked for those of you who have been using this method of sterilization.
>>
>>Secondly, I was wondering what suggestions you all had for Q-room or accomodations for incoming snakes. I have numerous new snakes coming in the next month. I am not really worried about internal parasites or illness because they are all CBB and because of the breeders that I am getting them from but that does not mean they might not arrive with mites or something similar.
>>
>>What type of setup is best for quaruntine? How long shgould they be kept there given the animals are CBB and from reliable sources? Any other miscellaneous tips for quarantine?
>>
>>Normally I wouldn't worry so but with this many animals arriving I can not just place a solitary enclosure in a different room/house for a while like I normally would until I knew the animal was safe. Toss on top of that not wanting to risk anything that might impact the health of one of my colubrid pairs worth several thousand and I'm just a we bit more cautious this season.
>>
>>Any info is greatly appreciated,
>>
>>Sean.

Thanks for the info Dave and Jeff.

I couldn't remeber for sure brand names and durations on Q-room. I was assuming the primary issue being mites. Also all the incoming animals except one are hatchlings.

As far as the microwaving it's good to hear others opinions/estimates. I'll go ahead and use what I nuked and not worry about further sterilization. BTW what I had done was two sessions of 12-15 min each so I mighta been a little overkill lol.

Thanks again,

Sean.

>>Thanks for the info Dave and Jeff.
>>
>>I couldn't remeber for sure brand names and durations on Q-room. I was assuming the primary issue being mites. Also all the incoming animals except one are hatchlings.
>>
>>As far as the microwaving it's good to hear others opinions/estimates. I'll go ahead and use what I nuked and not worry about further sterilization. BTW what I had done was two sessions of 12-15 min each so I mighta been a little overkill lol.
>>
>>Thanks again,
>>
>>Sean.

A question, you guys are suggesting the moss be in the micro wave for 5-15 min? Wow depending on the wattage of the micro wave that is a long time, I mean in what 60 seconds you can boil water, and water boils at 212°F that is hot no many animals can stand those temps.
-----
Jason A.
"Long time Herper, first year Breeder `07."