Reptile & Amphibian Forums

We just got back from looking at someones private collection. They were offering a few up for sale. Three boas, three bloods, a few offspring of the bloods. While talking my wife noticed but did not mention that a carpet in an upper area cage was exhibiting signs of IBD. I noticed it a short while later. The signs noticed...upper body up in the air and then the head would turn completely back and point straight down toward the bottom of the cage. Loose in the flesh, poor overall look and a bad shed. The owner stated when questioned that she had been doing these things the whole time that she had been in his possesion. Currently within the last few weeks has refused to eat. The snake seemed to just wander about ainlessly in her cage and very often would roll its head and neck up and back pointing back toward the floor of the cage. We are wondering how often that carpets were diagnosed with IBD, and if we were correct in identifying it. We are not going to be purchasing any of the reptiles offered, and immediately disinfected upon coming home. Even if we were wrong we could not put our collection of a couple thousand dollars, not to mention all our hard work in danger. Any opinions and answers out there?

Carpet pythons can indeed get IBD. The symptoms are not pathognomonic. The next most common cause of this is insecticide poisoning. Was there a nopest strip in the cage by chance? Lots of things can cause neurological problems that display like this but to play it safe, I'd never buy from this person and don't go back.

Ian

No pest strips were visible inside the cage, and there was no sanitizing between handling animals. No sanitizers were visible at all in any part of his reptile rooms.
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