Opmv ponderings !!!!!

[snakecharma]

who was it that put down there entire collection?? Is there a related link to this story/thread??

I do agree with the size and sterile conditions not being the best in alot of collections alot more research is needed though before the link to OPMV is established although i would also like to see some research into the stresses of over feeding and over weight animals. I tend to see alot of quick fed and over weight animals these days with owners hurrying them along to try and get them breeding alot faster, this may infact have repercussions down the track that alot have not thought of....

 

[CodeRed]

who was it that put down there entire collection?? Is there a related link to this story/thread??

Do you really believe that they put down their whole collection? No way not with such big $$$ involved. In reality they knock off the obviously sick ones and sell the rest anonymously through their mates or to unsuspecting newbies.

 

[snakecharma]

Do you really believe that they put down their whole collection? No way not with such big $$$ involved. In reality they knock off the obviously sick ones and sell the rest anonymously through their mates or to unsuspecting newbies.

i dont believe much that i read but as my first post says i infact have not read anything thats why i was asking for the link to the origional story of thread so i could read more about it

 

[-Peter]

I put down my entire collection of pythons.

 

[CodeRed]

I put down my entire collection of pythons.

But you are an honest person and probably one of the first to come forward.

Not all herpers would have done that.

 

[Jonno from ERD]

CodeRed - I agree with what you are saying, but you can't tar everyone with the same brush. Danny Brown euthanised $100,000+ worth of pythons and has used the euthanised snakes to assist with further research.

 

[arbok]

CodeRed - I agree with what you are saying, but you can't tar everyone with the same brush. Danny Brown euthanised $100,000+ worth of pythons and has used the euthanised snakes to assist with further research.

and how can you distinguish the good people from the bad? a 5 year vet course...

 

[Jonno from ERD]

And he's as clueless as the rest of us about the nitty gritty of this problem.

 

[PilbaraPythons]

I am a bit lost ( and perhaps are few others ) with your comment arbok , care to explain your point ?

 

[arbok]

apologies, i didnt make it very clear.
In response to Jonno's comment about "taring everyone with the same brush", how can you distinguish who is trust worthy and who is not? it has appeared alot of "big names" have been implicated to be untrustworthy people in the past.

By the way, this is not an attack on Danny Brown at all Dave (as i assume you might look at it in that way), im simply saying even someone with a good reputation can respond to the thought of losing alot of money in a bad way.

 

[Jonno from ERD]

I'm still failing to see the point you were trying to make arbok? I was obviously agreeing with CodeRed that there are a lot of unscrupulous keepers out there that would sell infected snakes at the drop of a hat, but I was saying that not everybody is as low as that - my example was Danny Brown, someone who's reputation would allow him to sell expensive snakes quite quickly but instead chose to euthanise a very expensive and irreplaceable collection due to the death of a handful of snakes.

 

[Magpie]

Is there a test available these days that will actually give a 100% diagnosis of OPMV?

 

[beeman]

Is there a test available these days that will actually give a 100% diagnosis of OPMV?

At this stage no there is no test available in this country that can give you any accurate
result!

 

[Zoltag]

Last I checked, there is no test that can be performed to confirm OPMV infection while the animal is alive, regardless of where in the world you are (has this changed?)

 

[wokka]

There will always be diseases out there which cannot be detected or identified withe testing of either live or dead animals. if a test is developed for OPMV(1), then what about OPMV (2) and (3) and so on. i have kept many different animals over my 40 years an a farmer/pet owner/keeper and know that "when you have live animals you get dead animals" and always will regardless of the tests developed.
Given the relatively small size of the reptile hobby in Australia it is unlikely that we will ever be able to rely upon health test to determine the health of animals. Intending owner have to accept that any new animal carries with it a risk of disease, and they should probably put equal effort into checking sellers/owners, as they put into checking the animal itself.

 

[mrs_davo]

Surely you can't be suggesting we keep our snakes in dirty conditions. I have seen a few that do, but I thought this was due more to lazyness or lack of interest. I could not imagine a worse thing than keeping a caged animal in unsanitary conditions.
It is common practice for myself to keep hatchies up to aboout 6 months in click claks or hatchie racks, but try to keep clean environment for all my snakes be it that they are in indoor or outdoor enclosures.
All stock owners must expect losses at some point in time.With most vetenary advice the first thing they will say is temperature & clean environment.
Certianly there needs to be more studies into some of these diseases & maybe it is up to us as herpetologists to come up with funds to make this happen.
Regards Ian.

 

[solar 17]

Missing the point

ian davo...as far as my original post is concerned, you couldn't have missed my point of view further if you tried....solar 17 [Baden].......ps l was purely speculating from a haematological point of view.....[anti-bodies]

 

[mrs_davo]

I would like to add that if proper hygene & quarantine procedures are followed,this must certianly reduce the risk of exposure to disease.Some animals of all kinds can be carriers of a disease & show no ill effects. This I know for a fact from my previous bird breeding experience. If an animal dies or becomes sick from unknown reasons,It is the responsibility of the keeper to sought expert vet advise to prevent spread to rest of collection & to others.
Thanks Ian.

 

[TrueBlue]

These viruses/virus have been in the country for many many years, some belive it has been brought in by snakes such as red tailed boas, which in the states many belive that they/it is a naturally occouring virus that these snakes carry.? Who really knows.
Keeping snakes in click clacks, imo, has nothing at all to do with the problem, and as Cris has said a large temp gradiant can easily be acheived. The hot end dosnt need to be 33-34 degrees at all, as long as it is nice and warm the snake can lye there for as long as it wants to get as warm as it wants then move to the cool end, simple. As someone else has pointed out, by putting many air holes in the click clack over the heated end lets most of the heat out but the floor of the click clack remains nice and warm to enable the snake to warm its self to what ever temp it desires.
I have kept some species of snakes in click clack type enclosures for years and have yet to have any problems.
All my animals thrive and breed when ever i want them too. And to date i still have had no suspect deaths.
I do feed fresh killed rather than frozen, and only tend to feed what i breed myself as i know of many cases where brought in frozen rodents have killed snakes.

 

[solar 17]

click-clacks & sizes !

l personally don't have a problem with click-clacks, chinese containers call them what you wish, but l DON'T BELIEVE that you can get a desirable temp. gradient in a one or two litre containers, l personally use 20 litre ones [very high] [with perches] for bredli,s for the 1st few months, but similar to True Blue l ONLY feed fresh killed which gets back to one of my original points [quality of food and temp gradient].....getting back to my original post was l do have to doubt people who reckon they can get a temp gradiant in a one litre container ......AND PROVE IT......l do believe its possible, but the trouble you would have to go to [imo] would not practical plus the expense.....solar 17 [Baden].......