Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I have lost my pair of snakes this week and I was reading about and maybe was caused by Cryptosporidium. This could be fatal to a leo gecko? I am very worried about it as the the snakes cage is at side of my leo cage...
Thanks

crypto can wipe out a colony of leos.
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1.0 Pastel/Jungle Leopard gecko from JL (BJ)
1.0 Hypo from Crested (Apricot)
1.0 Tremper Albino Hypo? (Cloud)
0.4 Normal/Hi-Yellow Leopard gecko (Beatrice, Goldie, Freckles, Pepper)
0.1 SHCT Leopard Gecko (Brite)
0.1 Tangy Mutt Leopard Gecko (Rainbow)
0.0.2 Corn Snakes (MIA)

First of all, I want to know what makes you think it was crypto and not any of the other known parasites that cause many of the same symptoms...... Also Did you have the snake checked by a vet and are you going to have a necropcy done to see the actual cause of the snakes death...... Sorry to hear about your snakes..... That is a sucky thing to go through..... To answer your question, crypto is transfered from reptile to reptile by bodily fluids, especialy fecal matter..... It is deadly and until recently there was nothing that can be done..... Fortunatly there is one drug that is used to treat crypto in humans that has been used on reptiles such as leopard geckos and snakes with great results..... it has totaly cured leos of of crypto completely...... The drug is still somewhat new but is out on the market.....

And if I remember correctly it was actually you gregg who posted your e-mails with the manufacturer discussing it's use in leopard geckos.

The link is for the use in humans... but it has good info nonetheless
http://www.fda.gov/cder/foi/label/2002/21498_Alinia_lbl.pdf
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Brian Skibinski
Brian@MilwaukeeReptiles.com
www.MilwaukeeReptiles.com
Leopard Gecko Care Sheet

if you plan on using your snake cage make sure your first clean with bleach (then soak for 2-3 hours), Clean with soapy hot water, then clean it with ammonia (soak 2-3 hours). Then wash again with soapy hot water.

Bleach will kill most bacteria, but if you are sure crypto was in your snakes cage the ammonia is suppose to be very effective in cleaning out the crypto.

after the cleaning process i'd let my tank sit for 2 weeks to be safe.

Also when using the cleaning products, just dump the whole bottle in, bleach is like 2 bucks and ammonia is the same price so you're really not being super thrifty by using only alittle bit... because improper cleaning could cause the next animal to live in that cage to die

Good advice there gurnham4.... Better to be safe than sorry..... You do have to be careful when using bleach and amonia.... The two must not be mixed together..... By mixing the two it will make a gas that will prove to be deadly to your herps and you...... This gas has actually been used in the two world wars to kill soldiers settled down in bunkers...... Nasty stuff..... Hey Brian, yes that was me that posted those emails with the manufacturer..... I am still in contact with them and they are very nice and will answer all questions you may have..... I am realy glad I started to do some research on this..... The info I am gathering may help alot of people and their reptiles.....

hey Greg, your stealing tim5580 line (about not mixing the bleach and ammonia together). Don't you know he's the "Don't mix bleach and ammonia together" spokesman.

thanks Greg for the research. How much does it cost to treat a leo using ALINIA, and how do you give it to your leo (and the amount). I'll write your response down and use it for the next time someone is looking for a solution to a sick gecko with crypto (after a doctor confirms it of course).

I think my very first leo died from crypto, thought I never got it checked out (I really didn't know he was sick because I got him to eat again so I thought he was recovering). Taught me never to buy an animal from the petstore

it would have been a good idea to have taken one of the bodies of the snakes in to a vet to get a definitive COD via necropsy. next time, if you can't take it in right away, corpses can be kept in a fridge (be careful- keep it in a container you don't intend to use for anything else) for around 2 days and still be in good shape. then your vet could work with you to keep the rest of your reptiles healthy.
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marla
currently: 0.0.9 catfish, 0.1 ferrets, 2.8.3 leopard geckoes, 0.0.13 oriental fire-bellied toads, and 0.2.0 sugar gliders