Re: New Hatchling Passed Away
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Malum Argenteum
The cheapest way would be to send a swab out to RAL (
https://www.vetdna.com/). That test is $20 (plus sampling supplies).
A vet could diagnose with a fecal sample (not always available in non-feeding animals, though). A visit and fecal at my vet is a little over $100.
On the Metronidazole discussion: I have used it to treat snakes (and a turtle) that aren't feeding, and that sometimes does the trick (which implies that the non-feeding was caused by amoeba in those cases). I personally would not shotgun it in an animal with no symptoms. It is also pretty far down the list of issues I consider first in a non-feeding animal -- enclosure setup/parameters; prey item undesirability; stomatitis/"mouthrot", at least)
One problem with treating failure to feed with shotgun meds is that it can be a little slower than a vet check, and only rules out one issue among many. A vet can rule out a whole handful of things and often get the right treatment going on the day of the visit.
On broader issues: one way that I've found pretty reliable to avoid issues like this one is to be incredibly selective about who you'll buy from and what you buy. Taking a free animal is something I would not do (I assume a seller knows what their product is worth...), nor "rescues" or deals too good to pass up.
The ball python market is absolutely saturated to the gills; it is 100% a buyer's market. There are many hundreds of breeders to choose from, and tens of thousands of snakes. A buyer can take the time to find an absolutely solid snake from a very high quality breeder that hopefully pathogen tests their stock and still pay a fair price.
On QT: You might consider improving your procedures since you have a few snakes and some intent to get a breeding collection going. Amoeba probably won't take a collection out, but there are viruses that will and it is worth protecting against them.
Okay! I would talk to my vet before giving any meds, to figure out if whatever situation is at hand calls for it. Also the girl has been pooping, hopefully she'll have another sometime soon and I can bring some in!
I think I was much too trusting, I tend to do that in general and was excited to make an acquaintance within the hobby. I will have to be careful to look further than just if their snakes *appear* healthy moving forward. I wish my little boy didn't have to be the victim of that lesson.
And yeah, I'm going to look into ways to better my quarantining for sure.
Re: New Hatchling Passed Away
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Python_Liqueur
... I will certainly be doing things differently if I have another hatchling struggling this much.
Or better yet, just get an adult. They're a lot less fragile.
Re: New Hatchling Passed Away
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Homebody
Or better yet, just get an adult. They're a lot less fragile.
Very true.
