Can disease as a good thing for a snake in the wild? Take Crypto for instance. It can remain dormant in a snake and shed it off in stressful situations and then recover whereas the exposed snakes in the area will have no immune response and die. Now there is less competition for food etc....When we treat for disease are we destroying something good that the particular species needs to survive or breed. Something the wild populations have lived with for years? Just thinking outside the rack.
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A different way of thinking.
Sighthunter
Jan 09, 2006 11:29 AM
Replies (9)
Sighthunter
Jan 09, 2006 03:45 PM
Cobras have venom how do we know that the common rat snake doesn’t incorporate viruses into their arsenal? Toxic waste? We are busy protecting our collection from virus and stuff. Seems odd to me that a healthy looking snake can clean out someone’s collection with some wicked virus, bacteria or protozoa and suffer no ill effects itself. Was it meant to do that is my question. Yes the virus is independent from the snake like the gut flora that keeps us alive is independent from us. Is that part of its defense mechanism. A symbiotic relationship? Toxic Waste? High stress is usually what brings things to the surface but is it doing what it was meant to do, kill off the competition?
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Sighthunter
Jan 11, 2006 11:08 AM
Since nobody wants to contest my Theory I thought I would add some more. What do animals do when they stress? A skunk will spray. A Tarantula will rub off undulating hairs from its abdomen, a stinkbug will stink and so on. So again stress seems to be the mechanism that releases the virus, bacteria or whatever that has been (maintained) inside the snake. Someone either tell me I’m a nut or agree with me or something I’m getting tired of arguing with myself.
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steve fuller
Jan 11, 2006 04:51 PM
I understand that an organism might release agents harmful to competing species or predators when it became stressed or threatened. I'm not sure why it would evolve to release pathogens that would be harmful to its own population. Of course Ecology 101 was almost 40 years ago.
Sighthunter
Jan 11, 2006 06:24 PM
I had noticed in some journals a while back a random study on I think it was Crypto where a percentage of a given population had this bug present in seemingly healthy animals. It seemed like the percentage was high although I cannot recall which paper I was reading. Take coccidiosis for instance to find oosists in an animal is normal but an over abundance is the clinical desease. These things if you will live often times in the dirt/ environment in which these animals live. Nothing is sterile except for maybe the sun and absolute zero. I will bet that most domestic rodent supplies, frozen or not, harbor some of these unwanted bugs. So my point is it does not necessarily harm healthy animals from their own species but may in fact target the other species in the area. Case in point Inclusion Bone can be carried by Boas for long periods of time without any ill effects but is harmful to other snakes.
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Sighthunter
Jan 11, 2006 06:43 PM
Last sentence should have been:Case in point Inclusion Bone DESEASE can be carried by Boas for long periods of time without any ill effects but is harmful to other snakes.
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chuck911jeep
Jan 11, 2006 10:49 PM
Could you elaborate on this Bill? My english is too poor to translate my opinion about meds, parasite, inbreeding, disease and all those uncertain, even some unknown things but i really like to listen about those subjects.
Sighthunter
Jan 12, 2006 09:36 PM
This thread is Theory, no facts here just expanding our minds on line. Good Quarenteen like above posts and medication as needed if there is a problem.
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mrand
Jan 11, 2006 05:46 PM
after having lived in minnesota for nine years, my guess is that people are just trying to be polite and averting their eyes...
matt
Sighthunter
Jan 11, 2006 06:28 PM
Yes Matt you are correct. I am most likley brain damaged but I am having fun. Have a nice day.
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