Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hi there,
a new arrival (python reticulatus jampeanus, dwarf reticulated python) died after one week. The microbiological investigation sayed that the cause of death were mass of CRYPTOSPORIDIAs (single cell parasites). I have one snake that was in direct contact with the one that died (they came as a couple) and my vet strongly recommended strict quaranteen husbandry with this one. Today I sent a fecal sample and stomac purge sample to the labority to check if the other one is infected too. Regarding my vet it's very likely and if yes there is no way of treatment. Has anybode experiences with this kind of parastites? Maybe an idea what to do if my other snake is infected too. (it looks and behaves healthy so far...) ??
I have about 15 other boids and of cause if there is a risk of infecting my whole stock its probably reasonable to sacrify the one if its testet postitve for cryptos? what would you say....

Crypto are small coccidian protozoans, and the problem with them is that they have a direct life cycle and so the oocysts can infect other snakes by direct exposure with fecal material from the infected snake. There is no intermediate host needed. Symptoms (regurge and diarrhea) will generally show within a few weeks after exposure, but the other issue is that some snakes can carry crypto for months and never show any symptoms, feeding and acting normally. Strictly quarantine any snakes that have been in contact with this animal immediately. There is no cure at the present time that I know of. Seek out a vet that has had experience with reptilian crypto. Good luck.

Kelly

I concurr with Kelly, and second that there is no current cure. Sometimes it can be managed, but risk of transfer is still there for your other animals.

It's your choice as to what to do with the snake, but some things to consider are...

How good is your quarantine area and are you willing to set it up permanently to still allow for the enjoyment of keeping this infected animal (presuming that it is one of the individuals that lives happily as a carrier). A seperate quarantine area will have to be set up for any other incoming snakes.

Perhaps this snake can be "disposed" of by offering it to a one-snake family. Let them know that this snake faces euthanasia because it will contaminate other snakes (no harm to people as far as I know). They can't have any other reptiles, and may incurr related vet bills.

Ian

I had a rainbow boa die from C. serpentis, although I didn't know it at the time. I must have inadvertantly spread it throughout my collection (boas and ball pythons) by switching logs, etc among the cages. It is spread via fecal to oral contamination so if they sit on a log, then sit in a bowl of water and drink the same water, that would do it. When I moved to a new city, the boas started showing symptoms. The regurg, diarrhea, and severe weight loss, along with anemia and lethargy.
But, since I moved to College Station, Tx, I had the A&M Vet School at my disposal. I began a research project with Dr. Karen Snowden in the Parisitology Dept. We were tracing the presence of the oocysts in the feces of my snakes and we were going to attempt a treatment with Nitazoxanide. I had to put one boa down because she was so bad off, but kept the rest to study. I first tested all my snakes to see which ones were infected. Turned out my boas and Ball pythons had it, but it was only my boas who had symptoms.
Anyways, to make a long story a little shorter, in the end, we were not able to try the drug because the snakes stopped shedding the oocysts. The boa started to look and feel better, was gaining a little weight, and was not nearly as lethargic as he had been. The Balls never did show and signs that they were infected.
The point of my story is that with proper supportive care, some snakes can make it through the infection and keeping them as stress free as possible helps a lot because once their immune system is compromised, they really don't stand much of a chance. I believe that my moving them to another city was just enough stress on the boas to make them symptomatic. I guess the Ball pythons didn't mind too much.
After the research ended, I gave my snakes to a vet student who knew how to properly care for them and was going to continue the research if they started shedding the oocysts again. That was over 3 years ago, and the snakes are still doing fine.

I don't think I covered everything that I really wanted to in this post. If you have any questions that haven't been covered, just let me know.

Kayla