My experience with Inclusion Body Disease (IBD)

[Montage_Morphs]

Originally Posted by God-Comes

is ibd the same as ibs cos i had ibs once

Uncool dude....

[RockRomantic]

RIP Clementine, sorry for your loss xx

[Montage_Morphs]

Originally Posted by RockRomantic

RIP Clementine, sorry for your loss xx

Thank you.

Well it's coming up to 4 months since she died, and I still have all my snakes alive and well, including the pythons. That can only be good news eh...

[mitsy]

So sorry for your loss. I would hate for that to happen to one of mine and to be honest I'd never heard of it before. Thanks for posting and again sorry your baby had to suffer from it

[Montage_Morphs]

Thanks Mitsy. I am over the shock of it now, and am just dealing with it as best I can. My quarantine methods seemed to have worked as my pythons are all still with me, and they would have been the first to go... so theres some hope.

I am arranging liver and kidney biopsies on Clems brother, Beux. He is the biggest and healthiest candidate I have for that operation, so heres hoping he comes back negative

[Carlie]

I was recently involved in an IBD scare, but thankfully not with my own collection.

As there is no cure and it's incredibly hard to contain, there's a sense of game over when you know you have it. You look at the rest of your animals and think "I'm going to lose all of you guys" and it's truly devastating. You've done your best for them, cared for them to the best of your abilities, but still they're going to die. It's not fair.

I admire your courage in what you've had to deal with and what you will continue to deal with. Not only will you be constantly watching your collection like a hawk knowing that one day they may become sick, but you'll also be bearing the burden of the stigma attached to IBD and your subsequent isolation. You're very brave.

Fortunately for all involved in my case, the aforementioned IBD scare turned out to be negative, but it's left a bad taste somewhat and I am now incredibly weary of the sources of my animals, not to mention very reluctant to add to my collection. Ignorance is not bliss when it's too late.

I really really hope that your other snakes remain unaffected and that one day you can put this nightmare behind you.

[Montage_Morphs]

Thank you so much Carlie.

I was of that mindset of "omgz all my snakes are going to die and I may as well just kill myself" kind of thing lol. But really, after the initial shock I had to think productively of the best way to protect my remaining snakes AND other peoples snakes. I had to go public... I had to let people know what was going on as I have bought from many people and sold to quite a few on RFUK.

I don't think people understand how important quarantine is, whether you are buying from your best friend or not! You CAN NOT trust any source to be 100% healthy and clear of IBD because many reptile illnesses are soooo good at hiding or laying dormant.

As for sticking my foot in it and alienating myself, hey it's great I don't particularly like people, and have never ever been a reptile show goer, so I doubt anyone will recognise me enough to shun me My close friends have stuck by me thick and thin, and the IBD label has not stuck to me as a person, just my snakes. Which is fair enough. I wont allow people to bring reptiles of any kind to my house, and I wouldn't take any of my snakes anywhere. It's just common sense!

I just hope and pray that they continue to thrive in my care... cause I have just bought another 500 mice for the winter and I would hate for them all to go to waste

[Carlie]

It's good to hear you've still got your chin up. It sounds like you've dealt with the situation very well.

Quarantine should be as important to keepers as the research they do on a species before they buy it. It wont solve everything, but it'll give us a standing start. IBD is very hard to contain, but in theory it is possible to contain with good quarantine and hygiene procedures. You've obviously done a damn fine job if IBD has failed to infect the rest of your collection.

If more people had the guts to come forward, the integrity to take responsibility and honesty to do the right thing, IBD would have less of a chance of spreading.

Unfortunately, the blame culture runs rife and those fiery torches burn bright. Few people would be prepared to do the right thing at their own expense. So we must protect our own.

You're doing a good job, both at handling your situation and at raising awareness. Well done.

[iHorror]

really sorry for your loss, but thanks for sharing. A real eye opener for basic hygiene practices. I'm sure almost everyone is guilty of not washing their hands when going between snakes.

[Montage_Morphs]

Originally Posted by iHorror

really sorry for your loss, but thanks for sharing. A real eye opener for basic hygiene practices. I'm sure almost everyone is guilty of not washing their hands when going between snakes.

I'd be willing to bet anyone £1000 that they don't wash their hands between every snake.

I use F10 gel or just straight up F10 when I can't be bothered with sticky hands. So so easy to do between each snake. Remembering to do it is another thing....