Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I'm in need of some guidance. We have 13 ball pythons and 2 boas. We are picking up another boa today for a total of 3. I'm paranoid as all get out about IBD.

What do you do for quarantine?

I've read anywhere from one month to six months. How long can IBD take to appear? Also, the quarantine room... if you have one quarantined for let's say 2 months then you bring another one into the quarantine room, doesn't that put you back to day one since its been exposed? (I am talking about different cages) Or am I overthinking this completely?

All input is greatly appreciated!

Thanks in advance!

I have read that the quarantine for Boas is a minimum of a year, best is 2 years. I can take a LONG time for IBD to show up in Boas. I have researched this frantically and repeatedly over the past year. Many breeders/keepers have limited themselves to a single species as a result of the disease.

As for the second snake, I would personally set it back to day one. I've read too many heartbreaking stories about this disease to not recommend you be fanatically cautious.
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Lincoln, NE
0.1 Pastel, 1.0 Pastel het Pied, 0.1 Pied, 0.1 Cinn, 1.0 Black Pewter, 1.1 Normals, 1.0 Thayeri, 0.1 Thayeri X Alterna, 0.1 crazy cat, 1.0 husband

Oh wow! That makes me a bit more afraid of it. I didn't realize it could take that long. Thanks for the info!
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***Borderline Morphs***
Jennifer Mills & Daniel Haynes
Balls
1.3 Pastels
0.1 Cinnamon
1.0 Spider
1.0 100% het albino/100% het pied
0.3 100% het albino/50% het pied
2.1 Normals (1.0 unknown)
Boas
0.1 Normal
0.1 Pastel

Yes, I am sorry to scare you about it, but it can be so devastating! There are breeders who have euthanized their entire collection when one snake after another began to fell ill.

You should also consider where you are getting the snake from, though. If this is a rescue, I would recommend an extensive, strict quarantine. If this is a purchase from a reputable breeder who themselves practice careful quarantine, then you may not need to worry as much.
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Lincoln, NE
0.1 Pastel, 1.0 Pastel het Pied, 0.1 Pied, 0.1 Cinn, 1.0 Black Pewter, 1.1 Normals, 1.0 Thayeri, 0.1 Thayeri X Alterna, 0.1 crazy cat, 1.0 husband

The one we are supposed to pick up today has been owned by the same guy for 10 years... strickly pet with yearly vet visits. The other new one has been owned by the same guy for 4 years (since birth basically). Neither I believe have been in contact with other snakes but ???
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***Borderline Morphs***
Jennifer Mills & Daniel Haynes
Balls
1.3 Pastels
0.1 Cinnamon
1.0 Spider
1.0 100% het albino/100% het pied
0.3 100% het albino/50% het pied
2.1 Normals (1.0 unknown)
Boas
0.1 Normal
0.1 Pastel

I always quarantine in a seperate room for a year...but that is just me. I've heard that 6 months would be probably be fine for the addition of a new snake to a collection.

From what I've read and heard from others, boas do not show signs of IBD as quickly as pythons. And a seemingly healthy boa can have an IBD infection for a rather long time since the infection may not migrate to the brain as fast as it does in pythons. Mites are the enemy. They spread diseases to other snakes in close proximity. And if a seemingly healthy boa with an IBD infection could spread it to another snake in close proximity as the mites move from enclosure to enclosure. I personally do not keep boas. I've only had to work with one rescue and I wouldn't allow the animal onto the same floor as my other snakes.

Just be careful and don't use the tools from the quaratine area in your healthy snakes. Always throw away the uneated food from the new snakes. Don't give it to another snake. Several years ago I got a might infection because a local pet store, where I purchased live feeders, would replace the uneaten mice back into their breeding tanks. Good thing my collection wasn't what it is today and the might issue was taken care of rather quickly, but it was still a pretty nasty headache.

W. Smith

Hm... that brings up another question I should have asked. I read that it is similar to aids in humans. If so, it isn't airborne correct?

thanks!
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***Borderline Morphs***
Jennifer Mills & Daniel Haynes
Balls
1.3 Pastels
0.1 Cinnamon
1.0 Spider
1.0 100% het albino/100% het pied
0.3 100% het albino/50% het pied
2.1 Normals (1.0 unknown)
Boas
0.1 Normal
0.1 Pastel

I'm sure that someone else might be able to answer that quesion better than I can. I think the snake has to come into either direct contact or indirect contact with fluids, wastes or items the infected snake has been around. I'm not for sure on it being airborne but I'm leaning towards no.

W. Smith

That's what I'm thinking. Thanks!
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***Borderline Morphs***
Jennifer Mills & Daniel Haynes
Balls
1.3 Pastels
0.1 Cinnamon
1.0 Spider
1.0 100% het albino/100% het pied
0.3 100% het albino/50% het pied
2.1 Normals (1.0 unknown)
Boas
0.1 Normal
0.1 Pastel

The more we find out about IBD, the scarier it becomes. I myself have reluctantly made the decision to not add ANY boa constrictors to my collection due to the menace of IBD, due to the fact that there really is no known "safe" quarantine period.

Some boas have been known or suspected of carrying IBD asymptomatically for several years. Further, I have heard horror stories of folks having outbreaks of IBD brought in by boa purchases from some very reputable breeders.

With over 100 morph balls under our roof, it just isn't worth the risk.
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Brad Chambers
WWW.HCU-TX.ORG

The Avalanche has already started-it is too late for the pebbles to vote....

Because boas can hide it for years it is a scary thing to possibly be bringing into your collection. If you want to be fairly sure your new boas aren't bringing IBD into your collection - stick a baby ball in the QT area with them and let the ball get exposure to the boa -- think of it as the coal miners canary -- your saving grace will be that the ball will die quickly if it catches IBD. Sounds awful to suggest but it's better than losing the whole collection.
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Tosha
JET Pythons
Toshas Blog

Herp Medicine does not equal a bottle of Baytril - Dr. Scott Stahl

It does *sound* awful, but I think I agree with this idea. If you absolutely want/need to add Boas, I would probably go with this.
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Lincoln, NE
0.1 Pastel, 1.0 Pastel het Pied, 0.1 Pied, 0.1 Cinn, 1.0 Black Pewter, 1.1 Normals, 1.0 Thayeri, 0.1 Thayeri X Alterna, 0.1 crazy cat, 1.0 husband

...The only babies I have are my DH. I do have an adult normal male in the same room though. Is that the same? He was a rescue we got so of course he is in the quarantine room.

***That does sound terrible though!***
-but I understand why
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***Borderline Morphs***
Jennifer Mills & Daniel Haynes
Balls
1.3 Pastels
0.1 Cinnamon
1.0 Spider
1.0 100% het albino/100% het pied
0.3 100% het albino/50% het pied
2.1 Normals (1.0 unknown)
Boas
0.1 Normal
0.1 Pastel