The tortoise Herpes virus is not endimic to a specific species, group or region. It has been found in species of many regions of the world and among many different species. It has thought to be transmitted from one species to a totally different species but it would seem that some species are more resistant than others OR it could be that some individuals can be more resistant to the virus than others.

Ed

A virus compatible with herpesvirus has been seen in several species of tortoises including desert tortoises, Argentine tortoise, leopard tortoise, Russian tortoise, Hermann's tortoise, Greek tortoise, and yellow foot tortoise Until proven otherwise, all tortoises should be considered susceptible.

in my opinion

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home sweet home

i agree completely. as the incubation can be so very long, every tortoise must be treated as a carrier, regardless of where it has come from or where it was born. after all, even the cleanest tortoise keeper, with the strictest of hygiene practices can make a mistake once. and alot of people have rescued tortoises with unknown backgrounds, including those that sell UKCB animals. `i for one am very glad that i have invested the cash in blood tests and screening for my leos before they have been added to my group. in the future if anything was to happen healthwise i will always have that data to look back on and get a better opinion of whats normal for that animal and what is not.

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i agree 100%

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home sweet home

The incubation can be extremely short. I lost 8 tortolises in a two week period once the advanced signs were found.

Also... as of yet there are no tests that can guarentee a tortoise does not have the herpes virus. If the virus is not active the tortoise can be a carrier and still test negative.

Ed

i know that it cant be tested for yet, but hopefully they will figure how to do that one out sooner rather than later. but i am still glad that i had a full health screen done for my last two girls as the blood results have given me a bench mark for future reference, should they become ill.

how much have you invested in screening tests over the years ed? and what types of tests are common over in the usa?

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true,
its just a waiting game reli we just have to watch for symptoms and abnormal behavior then vets straight away but i do think there is a lot of un necessary panicking going on,we know when our torts are ill and the specialist vets know their jobs and suspicions ,
but there is alot of info on the web both usefull and rubish we have to read for our selfes and just go with the flow i think

my opinion

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home sweet home

I have spent over $4000 over the years on all my tortoises for diagnostics alone.

This includes Fecals(which I now do myself), blood tests, bacteria sensitivity tests, tissue analysis.

For the herpes virus we have initial diagnostics on outward signs, tissue analysis and ELISA tests.

I have some of the most knowledgable vets on the disease... Elliot Jacobson and his student in addition to Steven Divers... available to me. Those are the vets who have taught me about the disease.

Ed

I was surprised to see that the TT note on the Herpes virus seems to have been edited... and I've been cut off at the knees...

Tortoise Trust Web - Herpes in Pet Trade Tortoises

As it's written here... even I couldn't argue the point or the way it's presented now.

Ed

Agreed...but is the original note on forums edited?