quarantine

[SteveCourty]

if i take my new lizard to a vet and get a check up and parasite test do i still need to quarantine it?

[sam12345]

Originally Posted by SteveCourty

if i take my new lizard to a vet and get a check up and parasite test do i still need to quarantine it?

Yes, there are still things that fecals themselves wont pick up.
Somethings take atleast 3 fecals to prove negative and even then there is still a chance.

Quarantine isnt all about parasites and diseases, its also about getting to know your reptile and see if it eats poos and acts normally.

[SleepyD]

Originally Posted by sam12345

Yes, there are still things that fecals themselves wont pick up.
Somethings take atleast 3 fecals to prove negative and even then there is still a chance.

Quarantine isnt all about parasites and diseases, its also about getting to know your reptile and see if it eats poos and acts normally.

ditto as Sam says

[funky1]

Originally Posted by sam12345

Quarantine isnt all about parasites and diseases, its also about getting to know your reptile and see if it eats poos and acts normally.

Couldn`t agree more - it`s also pretty stressful for any new rep when it moves `home` without taking into account any new viv mates it has to get used to. The journey, sights, smells, routines and even new day/night cycle are all enough to stess a newbie out, and even knock them off their food for a while (what`s known as the `settling in` period). If quarantined, the time taken to settle - at it`s own pace - is often greatly reduced, so that when the time does come to introduce it to any other reps, then it will be feeling a lot more confident, settled and be in a much better frame of mind (as opposed to potentially defensive) to settle into a colony as the lizard it `really is` as opposed to a skitty, and prob pretty nervous newb.

What lizard do you have in mind btw?

[SteveCourty]

i have a male blue headed tree agama (agama atricollis) that i managed to get at the weekend. they are colony reps so im in the middle of building a huge new viv 4 him and im hopefully getting 4 females brought back from hamm next weekend. i have the facility to quarantine each in its own tank or viv and fully understand the health side of quarantine. i was hoping that a parasite and vet check up would suffice to allow me to put them in pretty soon. i was going to band them so i new exactly which one was which and weigh them regularly to make sure everything was ok. the viv is 4 1/2 ft tall 5 ft long and 2 1/2 deep. as these lizards are only small (10-12 inches in length) i was hoping this would give sufficent space for them to make them selves at home. thered also be several basking areas so they wouldnt be fighting over one spot. if this wont do then il put them seperate im just worried as he should have company. the old owner said he changed alot after his mate died and i was hoping some new girlfriends would improve his life dramatically

[SteveCourty]

so with the above info considering viv size and vet treatment would this at least reduce the quarantine time? then moving them to the main viv wouldnt this just upset the process again? the main viv will hopefully be hailide bulbs were the quarantines will be uvb compacts and heat lamps

[sam12345]

Originally Posted by SteveCourty

so with the above info considering viv size and vet treatment would this at least reduce the quarantine time? then moving them to the main viv wouldnt this just upset the process again? the main viv will hopefully be hailide bulbs were the quarantines will be uvb compacts and heat lamps

I really would stick to a minimum of 3 months.
You have to remember as well that the stress of moving can drastically lower their immune systems.
Also like i say its not just to check eating and health but also pooing.
You can never be sure which of 4 has pooed if they are in together, and as im sure you know things can go downhill fast if lizards dont poo!

[SteveCourty]

OK ill set the vivs up. Need to get some more lighting etc tho before I get them.

Cheers for the advice guys. Hoping to get them after Hamm if they can find them ill post some pics up then

[sam12345]

Look forward to the pics

Dont get me wrong you could probably shorten the quarantine time if you get 3/4 fecals done on each, but personally for me it would be better to have 1 fecal on each and keep quarantine to 3 months.

[SteveCourty]

its ok im happy as long as there healhy im just concerned about my male being slightly lonely. As I say there colony reps. Nevermind hopefully ill get them fit and healthy within the 3 months