Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I have 3 corns. One 2 yrs old and two 1 yrs old. My question is when can i stop worrying about crypto. I've had all three corns since they were a few weeks old. Is it safe to say now that they do not have crypto.
Thanks,
Chuck

np

....

np

Crypto is something that takes a while (more than a few weeks) to materialize and show its symptoms. However, I don't know of any documented cases of Crypto having been found in corns being made public...

Is there some reason you're so worried about that particular disease?
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Darin Chappell
Hillbilly Herps
PO Box 254
Rogersville, MO 65742

I'M not that concerned with my corns. I'm more or less trying to find out how long before you know if a hatchling is clear of the parasite. I also know a vet can perform a screening test. But like i said my snakes show no signs of having crypto. But i read that crypto disease may kill snakes slowly, up to two years.
Thanks
Chuck

I may very well be behind the times on this, but I was under the impression that a definitive testing for cryptosporidium cannot be done without euthanizing the snake in question. Is that not the case?

I mean that was the big scare before...you get a snake, quarantine it, then only after having had it for months it begins to show those tell-tale signs of Crypto. Then, in order to be sure whether the rest of your collection had been exposed or not, you had to either allow the suspected carrier to die a long death and do a necropsy, or euthanize the animal and run the risk that you just killed an otherwise healthy animal that simply went off its feed for a while.

How long until you know you're safe? Well, months and months, I suppose. But, since, as I said before, I know of no publically declared case of documented crypto in corns, I wouldn't lose any sleep over it in the mean while. If your animals are eating, you're likely in no trouble whatsoever. When they stop eating, its normal for corns to do so, so don't freak out about that either. I just wouldn't worry, unless you know something about the origin of those snakes that would give you something beyond what you've laid out here.

Good luck with them!
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Darin Chappell
Hillbilly Herps
PO Box 254
Rogersville, MO 65742

Thanks. Like i said i was wondering how long a hatchling could be a carrier before showing signs of the disease. I beleive there is a fecal test that can be performed by a vet. But i know there is no cure.
Thanks again. I'm sure my corns are ok. All of them have been in my collection for over a year.
Chuck

Yep, there's fecal tests for it. An acid-fast test and also some other one, but I forget the name for the other one. Both will tell you if it's present, but the one test sometimes gives false negatives.
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colubridlady@gmail.com

3.3 Adult cornsnakes, various morphs
1.1 2004 Hypo cornsnakes
0.1 2004 Normal Het Hypo cornsnake
0.0.2 2004 Caramel cornsnakes
0.0.1 2004 Amber cornsnake

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Darin Chappell
Hillbilly Herps
PO Box 254
Rogersville, MO 65742

The other test is called an IFA- immunoflourescent antibody test. They don't often (if ever) give false postives, in fact it's the only way to know for sure if it has it. Cryptosporidia is a protozoal parasite that infects almost every animal, though the mammal crypto is C. parvum and the reptile one is C. serpentis. There is stil debate if the reptile species is zoonotic (ie they can give it to humans).
The signs in snakes are usually a mid-body swelling and regurgitation.
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