Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I about a month and half ago obtained a LTC pair of Black Forest cobras. My friend has had the animals since 2001. I have put them in their own enclosures and have left them alone other to feed them and give them water . The male is pushing 7ft. He has refused food as long as I have had him. he has shed in that time. I recently pulled him out of the cage to examine him and noticed the weirdest things. We would not move forward at all and would keep a close tight curl. When you stretch him with the hook he pulls himself backward but not as he is if he is retreating. When he does this it seems as if parts of his body are trembling. He is very calm for a forest and my friend has told me that he has always been a calm snake. My Friend says that he has always been a good eater. I trust my friend as I have bought many snakes from him and I know him personally and never had problems. I am very concerned that this may be Paramixel virus. I had the vet come over this morning and he took a bloodtest. He said that he would send into a lab that would do a titer test for paramixil, and I would have my results in a week or 2. Is this possable? The doctor said that the condition seemed to be neurological in nature. The female seems to be great except 1 thing. She has a head twitch when she sees you. When she is unaware of my presence she doesnt do it. We did not take a bloodtest from her due to the fact she is a complete nutcase. I do not like to put other people at risk with my hobby. She eats like crazy and both snakse have awsome weights almost to the chunky side. We also felt if this is something viral we will find it in the snake showing symptoms. My friend explained to me that the female has done that eversince he has had her and that she has always been nuts and chases. I am very worried about them and the rest of my collection. What other tests need to be run on this animal. Could this be a sign of old age? Any help would greatly be appreciated.

Quarantaine and desinfect everything you work with!

That sonds an awfull lot like Ophidian Paramyxovirus

Could be old age though, but the curling up makes me very worried about that snake. The female could be a carrier and the male could be infected due to the stress of moving (even though that could have been very mninimal)

Keep a very close eye on your own and your friends' collection

Good luck, hope it's just old age for the snake's (and yours') sake

Peter

if it is Ophidian Paramyxovirus will the snake die soon? What is weird is when I approach his cage he hoods and strikes. Will the bloodtest tell if it is the virus? What else could cause these problems? From what I hear Cobras tend to be more resistant against the virus.
Thank You

First of: I'm not a veterinairian, so what I tell you, are only my own experiences and those of others, I'm no specialist at OPV.

Yes, I heard that cobra's are much more resistant to OPV than other snakes like asian ratsnakes and rattlers.

It COULD be OPV, I'm not saying it IS... Wish I could tell you what is is though..

Snakes do die of OPV, some survive the "disease" but remain a carrier for the virus. Some veterinairians (almost all I guess) think that the best way of dealing with OPV is to euthanize the snake.. (kill it that is..)

There are no known medicines, however some people over here in holland have had good results with a vaccine originally used for sporting-pigeons.

I guess the one who could tell you best is John Bakker, he experienced an outbreak himself and has put it to a halt using the bird vaccine (that was a few years back by the way)

I'll mail you his adress

Good luck

Peter
John Bakkers' website (dutch though... )

Hey g...keep us posted on what the vet finds...

remember...the head twitching is normal for forest cobras...

good luck,

Steve

I don't know very much about the Paramexis virus, but your male Forest sounds to be having some sort of trouble. You will know more when the blood tests are in. As far as your female's head twitching, I can give you a little peace of mind there. All Forest cobras do that. They are just a nervous,jumpy species. My male Forest does the same exact thing and he is about 2 and a half years old. I have also observed other keepers' specimens exhibiting much the same behavior so you can probably relax on that aspect...Hope you get good news on your male!
Drew Gosnell.

If it is infact Paramyxovirus, you entire collection is in trouble, with a capitol T, this is a virus that is aairborne contagion, besides being spread by contact with tools, water dishes. They will become first listless, then if you watch they will start wheezing or actually sneezing, I was hit very hard by it 3 years ago. Bleach and total isolation is the answer. Bleach tools between cages, any animals that start showing any symptoms, isolate IMMEDIATELY, as by that time they have been contagious for awhile. research para for yourself, mortality rates are huge approaching 100%, with no meaniful treatment I have heard of aside from symptematic treatment. If its para, good luck, save those not infected, isolate those with it.
Barry

Hello,
I am starting to rule out paramixal virus. He is not restless and no respirtory distress. I have a tendancy to worry about the worst case senerio. I know what ever is bothering him is neurological, but I feel if he has been infected with para he should have been dead within days of showing symptoms. I still had a blood sample sent to university of florida. Cobras are usally the last to suffer from the illness aswell. What animals did you have that got infected? What was the time of showing symptoms to death and how long for your other animals to start showing symptoms. Thank you for your response.

The animals I heard of showed symptoms and died within a few days, those were all rattlers, large boids and asian ratsnakes.

Do keep the animal in a quarantaine situation, at least untill the test results are back.

(I share your "worst case scenario ideas,
I once wanted to build a snake room that was plane crash-safe Hey, It CAN happen, can't it?)

Keep us informed on your cobra, start a new tread if you have to, not that many people scroll down to sea if there are new messages

Good luck,

Peter