Kokopelli
Resident Boa Fanatic
Alright, I think I have all the facts I can at this point have... information about this parasite is sadly lacking.
There are 11 species of Cryptosporidium and it is currently believed that Cryptosporidium Serpentis is the species that can cause illness in lizards and snakes.
Diagnosing:
The symptoms are a bit vague and can be easily emulated by any number of physical illnesses. Being a digestive tract parasite, the parasite causes inflammation of the stomach tissue, which leads to swelling, regurgitation and anorexia... eventually, leading to death.
Cryptosporidium Serpentis can be tested for by:
1- fast acid fecal test (it is recommended to conduct three consecutive tests to rule out the presence of Crypto).
2- Blood tests. The current methods are very sensitive and may yield false positive results should other species of Cryptosporidium be present(usually Cryptosporidium Parvum, which can be passed on by ingesting infected rodents, but it causes no harm to snakes).
3- Biopsy taken from the stomach. This is a very stressful and risky test, as anesthetics are high risk in reptiles.
It is also not as accurate as one would hope(according to "Understanding Reptile Parasites).
4- Histology on the stomach tissue, conducted in post morterm will give an accurate diagnosis.
Snakes can harbor the parasite for their entire lives without showing symptoms. Snakes with developed immune systems can live as if nothing is wrong, but they will still shed Occysts and may still contaminate snakes in their surroundings.
Treatment:
Currently there is no effective treatment for Cryptosporidium. Attempts have been made to treat the disease with medicine that are usually used on kettle in order to treat other Crypto variants to variable success ratio, but nothing solid has yet been discovered.
Facts:
1- on 1995 an experiment was made to attempt to infect rats with Cryptosporidium Serpentis repeatedly- these attempts consistently failed. This goes a relatively long way into negating the hypothesis that snakes can receive Crypto by eating contaminated rats.
2- Minimal exposure to the parasite is sufficient to infect another reptile, usually, transmission occurs by drinking contaminated water. The contraction occurs by fecal-oral contact.
3- Crypto occysts are extremely resilient and can withstand exposure to long periods of very low degrees(a test conducted on Crytpo occysts showed that after 775 hours of freezing at -22 degree Celsius, 2% of the occysts were still active and capable of infection.
They are also highly resilient to conventional cleaning materials: Chlorine, Bleach, and so forth have little effect.
The following proved useful:
* 8-18 hours of exposure to: Ammonia(5%), Formalin(10%), Saline solution(10%), Hydrogen Peroxide.
* Quick response to fast freezing(liquid nitrogen).
* 5-9 minutes exposure to steam-cleaning jets at 45-60 degrees Celsius.
It is interesting to note though that 20% of the Occysts shed are "thin-walled" and easily destroyed. This, it is believed, are meant to re-infect the snake. The rest are thick-walled and meant to be introduced to other animals- since snakes are kept in relatively small cages, they get re-infected from thick walled Occysts as well.
4- Crypto occysts can remain active for up to 6 months on dry surfaces.
Prevention:
These are not facts, but steps that could be the difference between major infection and safety:
1- New animals should be handled with single use gloves and away from the collection. It would be extremely beneficial to conducted a fecal test at least once before terminating quarantine.
2- Food and water dishes should never be passed from one snake to another.
3- Do not wash water dishes with the same towel/brush/whatever- Crypto travels very well by water and I suspect this is how it has spread through my collection.
4- Get a steam cleaner- there are hand-held steam cleaners which are quite cheap and effective.
Personally I am not inclined to believe that human beings can serve as vectors in passing the disease unless minimal hygene is not being practiced- by our actions though, such as moving one food item to another viv, feeding kingsnakes with deceased animals, cleaning water dishes with the same tools- we can make vectors out of ourselves.
If Crytpo made its' way into your collection, you will be faced with a difficult dilemma.
Regardless of how hygienic you think you were- I suggest testing every single snake you own.
The moral thing to do is to stop the further spread of the parasite... so you either stop breeding and keep the snakes you have as pets without exposing them to other animals/keepers, or you euthanize the infected animals.
I can't tell you what's right and wrong- but I -can- say that it would be irresponsible to sell an infected animal- not only may the snake eventually die, it may contaminate entire collections.
It is now believed that a very high percent of captive Leopard Geckos are Crypto positive- and I suspect the same is true for many snakes.
It is up to us to be aware and prevent the further spread of this parasite, and hope that a definite cure is found soon.
There are 11 species of Cryptosporidium and it is currently believed that Cryptosporidium Serpentis is the species that can cause illness in lizards and snakes.
Diagnosing:
The symptoms are a bit vague and can be easily emulated by any number of physical illnesses. Being a digestive tract parasite, the parasite causes inflammation of the stomach tissue, which leads to swelling, regurgitation and anorexia... eventually, leading to death.
Cryptosporidium Serpentis can be tested for by:
1- fast acid fecal test (it is recommended to conduct three consecutive tests to rule out the presence of Crypto).
2- Blood tests. The current methods are very sensitive and may yield false positive results should other species of Cryptosporidium be present(usually Cryptosporidium Parvum, which can be passed on by ingesting infected rodents, but it causes no harm to snakes).
3- Biopsy taken from the stomach. This is a very stressful and risky test, as anesthetics are high risk in reptiles.
It is also not as accurate as one would hope(according to "Understanding Reptile Parasites).
4- Histology on the stomach tissue, conducted in post morterm will give an accurate diagnosis.
Snakes can harbor the parasite for their entire lives without showing symptoms. Snakes with developed immune systems can live as if nothing is wrong, but they will still shed Occysts and may still contaminate snakes in their surroundings.
Treatment:
Currently there is no effective treatment for Cryptosporidium. Attempts have been made to treat the disease with medicine that are usually used on kettle in order to treat other Crypto variants to variable success ratio, but nothing solid has yet been discovered.
Facts:
1- on 1995 an experiment was made to attempt to infect rats with Cryptosporidium Serpentis repeatedly- these attempts consistently failed. This goes a relatively long way into negating the hypothesis that snakes can receive Crypto by eating contaminated rats.
2- Minimal exposure to the parasite is sufficient to infect another reptile, usually, transmission occurs by drinking contaminated water. The contraction occurs by fecal-oral contact.
3- Crypto occysts are extremely resilient and can withstand exposure to long periods of very low degrees(a test conducted on Crytpo occysts showed that after 775 hours of freezing at -22 degree Celsius, 2% of the occysts were still active and capable of infection.
They are also highly resilient to conventional cleaning materials: Chlorine, Bleach, and so forth have little effect.
The following proved useful:
* 8-18 hours of exposure to: Ammonia(5%), Formalin(10%), Saline solution(10%), Hydrogen Peroxide.
* Quick response to fast freezing(liquid nitrogen).
* 5-9 minutes exposure to steam-cleaning jets at 45-60 degrees Celsius.
It is interesting to note though that 20% of the Occysts shed are "thin-walled" and easily destroyed. This, it is believed, are meant to re-infect the snake. The rest are thick-walled and meant to be introduced to other animals- since snakes are kept in relatively small cages, they get re-infected from thick walled Occysts as well.
4- Crypto occysts can remain active for up to 6 months on dry surfaces.
Prevention:
These are not facts, but steps that could be the difference between major infection and safety:
1- New animals should be handled with single use gloves and away from the collection. It would be extremely beneficial to conducted a fecal test at least once before terminating quarantine.
2- Food and water dishes should never be passed from one snake to another.
3- Do not wash water dishes with the same towel/brush/whatever- Crypto travels very well by water and I suspect this is how it has spread through my collection.
4- Get a steam cleaner- there are hand-held steam cleaners which are quite cheap and effective.
Personally I am not inclined to believe that human beings can serve as vectors in passing the disease unless minimal hygene is not being practiced- by our actions though, such as moving one food item to another viv, feeding kingsnakes with deceased animals, cleaning water dishes with the same tools- we can make vectors out of ourselves.
If Crytpo made its' way into your collection, you will be faced with a difficult dilemma.
Regardless of how hygienic you think you were- I suggest testing every single snake you own.
The moral thing to do is to stop the further spread of the parasite... so you either stop breeding and keep the snakes you have as pets without exposing them to other animals/keepers, or you euthanize the infected animals.
I can't tell you what's right and wrong- but I -can- say that it would be irresponsible to sell an infected animal- not only may the snake eventually die, it may contaminate entire collections.
It is now believed that a very high percent of captive Leopard Geckos are Crypto positive- and I suspect the same is true for many snakes.
It is up to us to be aware and prevent the further spread of this parasite, and hope that a definite cure is found soon.
