Emerald Tree Boa Organization - Corallus caninus

Emerald Tree Boa - Husbandry : Quarantine

Quarantine means different things to different keepers. For me, it's the period of isolation for animals as yet unproven to be safe for introduction into my general population. I'm not a believer in the frequent occurrence of airborne virus or bacteria as a disease agent in reptiles. Granted it does happen but the risk factors are minimal and completely acceptable if a few simple precautions are stringently observed. Keepers are in fact the real problem and the most prevalent vectors of disease. Therefore, the manner in which the originating collection of a new acquisition is attended is of more importance to me when determining the level of quarantine necessary for a specific animal.

Generalizations : Facts vs. Urban Legends
It's easy to say that WC specimens should be more carefully scrutinized because of the unknowns. In my opinion it's actually the other way around. CB animals from unfamiliar sources are much more likely to bring with them unanticipated or unknown problems. With WC animals, there is a certain level of pre-informed acceptance. We know the animals are likely communally housed. We are familiar with many of if not all of the parasites and anticipate them to be present. We are familiar with the most virulent types of neurological problems which display familiar symptoms in certain species and can anticipate the duration of time needed for such diseases to incubate and display their presence. With WC we tend to anticipate and prepare for the worst case scenario and therefore people who have done it for a while, tend to lose many fewer animals as their assessment skills of both the animals and the vendors improves.

With CB purchases however, the dynamic is completely different although it shouldn't be. Commonly made is the leap in logic that because it's captive bred it must be a cleaner healthier animal. Who hasn't been to a collectors home in which you found yourself having to hold your breath and scared to sit down or touch anything for fear of contracting some fatal disease? The number of animals being kept in a healthy, sanitary environments is not governed by their point of origin. Neither does it follow that because an individual animal came from a large well known breeder that it is beyond scrutiny. I've even toured large scale zoo collections that behind the scenes were kept very poorly and more than a few large scale exports whose husbandry skills within their holding facilities were far better than most average individual collectors. It is really all a matter of individual circumstances. Familiarity is the best weapon with which to gauge what degree of caution is necessary. When the luxury of that knowledge is not available, assume the worst, and work backwards.

Essentially quarantine needs to be determined on an individual basis. If you know an animal is clean, the animal has checked out clean, returned negative stools and Crypto tests, and displays normal patterns of behavior and physiology, then such an animal may be ready for introduction into a colony in as little as 30 days. On the other hand, animals coming from questionable environmental circumstances or unknown situations, or facilities where one or more problematic factors are known to exist, demand the utmost in precautionary measures.

Taking a "cured" ERS animal as a hypothetical example, before exposing such an animal to a healthy specimen, I would require that the animal in question had exhibited at least a full year of normal, unblemished husbandry history and retuned negative test results before such an introduction could even be considered. Even with such a record, I would recommend severely limiting and tightly controlling exposure durations, and exercise strict event management (water bowls removal, immediate removal of any and all waste) in order to control circumstances, insure and preserve as much as possible the health of the unaffected animal.

On the other hand, an animal from a breeding facility with which I am familiar, one whose practices I know to be sanitary, would likely blow through quarantine here within 60 to 90 days. Such a period would give adequate time to complete a full fecal work-up and blood work scan after which I would feel completely comfortable in allowing it access to other animals within the colony without reservation.

An Ounce Of Prevention : Rules to live by.
A few things can be done everyday with respect to husbandry that will insure against the possibility of a keeper becoming the vector of unwelcome nastiness within a collection. To some, these simple measures may sound extreme. If they sound that way to you, then you are most likely going to benefit the most from them.

Water Bowl : Emptied, washed and disinfected every other day.
Substrate : Cleaned immediately after defecation or urination. Clear a minimum 5" circle of all the surrounding substrate from the top layer all the way down.
Musical Food Items : Never offer the same food item to two animals. If the animal refuses to feed either give it to a croc, (who cares) or eat it yourself.
Sanitized Humans : Always, not sometimes, not when it's convenient, but always prior to moving between cages or on to the next animal, disinfect yourself. It takes 2 seconds with a Novasol solution or an AN456 Quat solution that you can keep in a spray bottle right in your snake room. Spray your hands, wipe off with a paper towel and go. Second only to feces removal, this practice is perhaps the single most important thing you can do to insure that YOU don't inadvertently become your own worst enemy.
Isolation : Should an animal begin to show signs of discomfort or illness it is vital that it be immediately taken out of the general population and isolated in a separate area until it has been accessed, diagnosed, treated and well on the way to recovery. The

Sound severe? Certainly not! An after a couple months in practice, it all simply becomes second nature. I've used this regime successfully for years now and during that time I've not had as much as a mite make it from one animal to another. By employing this simple yet effective routine on a daily basis you can virtually eliminated the spread of undesirable agents within your collection.

Joe P.

DGS Directory