Ibd !

[Kustom]

how do snakes get this disease? and what are the signs and how can it be prevented, im sure im not the only one who would like to know

[Fangio]

Inclusion Body Disease

All info can be found in there, except for that it seems to be affecting colubrids as well as boids also.

[moobazmoo]

Inclusion Body Disease. Usually a condition that remains un-noticed in Boas for sometime and in fact some can be carriers all their lives without showing any symptons throughout. IBD is far more agressive in pythons than in Boas, usually killing an infected animal within 48 hours to a week.

Symptoms are varied, with star gazing, RI, loss of motor functions, nervous system failure and a complete list can easily be found by google. A live snake can not be tested for this condition with 100% accuracy. Despite it being a risk, it is not all that common. What is more common and just as lethal is PMV, which is paramyxovirus. Similar symptoms but can be identified in a live animal through blood tests and again is incurable.

How is IBD/ PMV spread?

Well mainly it is spread if there is an outbreak of mites or other external parasites, or shared drinking water, or body fluid transfer. In other words if you house two snakes together, you are more likely to wipe both out than if you house separately. Another good reason to house individually. Not too often spread as an airbourne virus but would you risk it? I wouldn't. Moral of the story is to conduct good quarantine rules when buying a new animal.

When you mention IBD to most inexperienced python owners, they are quick to assume it's because of Boas. I have read so often how people will say "DON'T HOUSE PYTHON'S IN THE SAME ROOM AS BOAS." It's a condition which is known with Boids and not just because of Boas.

[Ssthisto]

Prevention is simple: Very, very strict quarantine, never handle your snakes after handling someone else's without showering in between, never handle new snakes before handling existing snakes, and keep quarantined new animals separate in their own ROOM for a minimum of six months and preferably a year for boas. Separate equipment, separate washing facilities, and never ever cross contaminate. Better still, keep the new animals in one location and keep your existing collection in a different one - by which I mean different buildings.

IBD is KNOWN to be transmitted via bodily fluids - saliva, mucus, blood, possibly semen - and may be aerosolised if you have a coughing snake or it may be spread by snake mites.

As far as signs go, the only absolutely certain one is the presence of "inclusion bodies" in the organs - like the liver - which can only be detected by taking a sample of the organ from the live snake and examining it under a microscope. There are other symptoms but these can appear in diseases and situations that are NOT necessarily indicative of IBD - including handling stress in some cases! The other symptoms are:
Regurgitation and weight loss (mostly boas)
Respiratory distress
A lack of coordination and loss of the ability to stay or turn upright
General loss of muscle tone
Tremors, flailing the head around and other "fit"-like symptoms

This isn't an exhaustive list - some snakes will show some of them, some will show most of them, some will show symptoms that aren't on the list.