Reptile & Amphibian Forums

In reply to yonkers
As we have previously discussed, it is important to inspect new purchases carefully to insure, as far as possible, that they are not sick. But it doesn't end there. If you already own boxies and you are perhaps buying more to make up breeding groups, or perhaps starting up with a different subspecies, you must be very careful. Sick creatures can be devastating to those of us wanting to learn, and breed native Terrapenes. New additions to a Terrapene colony can be plagued by Chronic Bacterial Pneumonia,
fungi, viruses, various parasitic worms, and protozoans. Outbreaks of infectious disease in hobbyists collections almost always start as a result of introducing new stock.

All new stock must be isolated for a period of quarantine.
The quarantine area must have all of the necessary life -support systems for optimum living, but keep decorations to a minimum. Keep new additions in a separate room or outside enclosure for a period of eight weeks. ( the original word quarantine, in fact meant " forty days" ) I have extended my quarantine to eight weeks due to new diseases being discovered each month. Using a microscope or direct fecal smears depending on the offending agent, you can indentify most sources of the problem.
On no account should you transfer items from quarantine sections to your main area(enclosure), unless you have access to an autoclave or sterilized materials. And we must be careful ourselves to keep our hands clean after dealing with quarantine animals.
During the period of quarantine, keep a close eye on the new boxies. If no problems arise you can be reasonably sure they are safe to join your new colony. As a precautionary measure; I personally adminster panacure and metronidazole( in the amounts as prescribed by Klingenberg's D. V. M. New Book on Parasites )
Not sure?...see a Vet. with a good Boxie Reptile reputation.
Ric

Good information. Thanks for doing the research and posting. Liked the incidental regarding the meaning of quarantine.
Regards
K

Great post! Thanks!

Hello, good post!

Some things to add. While reptile medicine has come a long way in the last decade or so there will always be a huge gap between herp and mammalian vet med. Basically because there's 6500 species of herps, and a large portion are available in the pet trade. A veterinarian never knows what species will be coming in the door next! With this said, it should be clear that the basic disease processes are fairly well understood (parasites, pneumonia, bacterial infections ect) but there will always be the X factor. That is, the unknown disease yet to be clearly documented (often viral) that may be clear and present, or asymptomatic and in a carrier state.

I bring this up because there is no 100% clear cut time for quarantine; something that is clear to most of us already.

Another point I feel worthy of mentioning is my disagreement with the medications given. While it seems that the poster has a relationship with a veterinarian already (a vet tech?), the administration of medications should only be done as prescribed by a vet. Animals doing fine and are clear of symptoms should not be given prophylactic medications in my opinion.
Ian

Hi All,

Thank you for the wonderful post. I agree there is no clear cut time for quarantine. I was more curious/concerned what the minimum amount of time should be for new animals that do not show any signs of illness and appear in everyway to be healthy.

Thanks!

I appreciate the feedback!

It's true we can't be 100% sure regarding illness; but we can be reasonably sure. I don't think I'm ever 100% sure about most things.....I just try and lower the odds.

With respect to quarantine time regarding boxies that appear well; I'd recommend the proposed eight week rule.

Although a wild caught boxie may seem asymptomatic; 99% of all wild boxies have pathogens. They can live with them in an open range; but that situation changes within a closed captive area (same substrate for increased contamination) and close proximity to other boxies. To further complicate things, we must consider the other variables such as STRESS; or a change in the boxies homeostasis. All that a boxie does in the wild that meets it’s needs including normal feeding, being handled, their daily walk along it’s home range, the preference for favorite foods, their breeding habits, being able to feel safe, genetic factors, and many more variables influence STRESS. As stress increases so does lowering a boxie’s immune system. That’s when we see a boxie that looked fine upon aquiring him; change over weeks in captivity. Consequently time is our best friend. We can wait six months, a year, two weeks; I proposed eight weeks for the aforementioned reasons. In conclusion one must consider, we never know which ones will be carriers that can contaminate our entire colony....

Regarding my background; I'm not a Vet Tech or studying to be a VET.

I agree that medicating a boxie is not for anyone and everyone. Decades of hands on working with them, and some degrees in the Biological Sciences, along with extensive reading, have given me a little background.

Respectfully,
Ric