Bio Security and Good Quarantine Practices
In my opinion the most important aspect of successfully keeping a group of animals is being proactive about making sure any new animals you acquire do not carry any illness with them that could potentially wipe out your existing colony of healthy animals. It is a misconception I hear all to often that having mites is just part of the hobby or that getting reoccurring respiratory issues during the breeding season is just part of the hobby and I just do not agree with that. It is just part of the hobby if you do not actively take measures to prevent it from being an issue in the first place though I am sure!
My bio security measures start when I am shopping. I try my best to avoid buying animals from resellers simply because of the odds game. Even if they are doing their best to give animals proper care they just have a lot of animals coming and going and odds are if they buy enough animals a few are bound to come in with some kind of issue whether it be mites, parasites, or viruses. Many times resellers do not have any kind of quarantine or bio security measures in place and that is where the risk increases. I'm not saying all resellers have no quarantine but It is just my personal preference I start MY bio security by purchasing from sources that are selling animals they produced themselves.
Once I have found an animal I want to acquire from a breeder I trust and make a purchase I go to fill myself out an order form on Research Associates Laboratory and get my swabs ready! I always have my animals I purchase held for pickup at my local fedex facility and upon arrival I go back to my van and visually inspect the animal. I look very closely for any mites that may be present hiding under the scales and I check the gums/mouth to see if they are inflamed. Then I do my swab test by swabbing the mouth of the snake and getting a saliva sample. I then turn right back around and walk back in fedex and have my saliva sample overnighted to Research Associates Laboratory to be tested for the following viruses. Arenavirus, Nidovirus, Ophidian Paramyxovirus, and Sunshine Virus. I opt to use Research Associates Laboratory for my testing because I will get results the same day the receive the sample. Knock on wood I have never received an animal that came back testing positive but my plan was if I ever received a positive for a virus I would resubmit another sample immediately to Research Associates Laboraty as well as submitting a sample to Fish Head Labs. I have used Fish Head Labs in the past but they do a slightly different method of testing and the results take a little longer to get back. The thing about these viruses is that they may carry them but not be shedding the virus at a detectable amount when you do the swab which is why I always swab immediately upon receiving the animals since I am assuming they are stressed from shipping and if they are carriers they are shedding the virus while stressed.
Now that I have swabbed my newly purchased snakes mouth to get a saliva sample and had my sample sent overnight shipping to research associates laboratory I start my journey home to complete my quarantine procedure. The next step is mite treatment / prevention! I always visually inspect for mites but regardless if I see them or not I treat every animal for mites that I purchase. Before preventative treating I can't even count on my fingers how many times I had an animal I did not visually see mites on but had mites appear on them a few weeks into quarantine. This would be either the seller knew they had mites so treated the snake before shipping it but didn't kill the eggs or was battling a mite infestation and thought they had it under control but didn't kill all the eggs. Either way, I just go ahead and treat any incoming animals for mites for a few weeks to be sure if any eggs hatch they die immediately. The method I find that works the best and is the easiest for me is I buy a Hot Shot no-pest stripe and break the plastic housing open and cut a small square off about a 1inch by 1 inch square for an adult and a 1in x 1/2 in square for a baby. I place the chunk in a small 2oz portion container with a lid that has some holes poked in the cup. This has worked very well for me to preventatively make sure no mites hatch and has worked great killing adult mites on animals that came in with them visually noticeable on the snake. I keep ALL new animals on paper for a few weeks to make sure IF they have mites I can see them easily on the paper and also because I want to be able to visually inspect any stool samples and acquire samples to be submitted for fecal floats or tests for internal parasites.
At this point I set the clock for quarantine to begin. I keep all animals in quarantine for a minimum of 90 days. Sometimes I keep animals in quarantine for 6 months to 1 year depending on who I made the purchase from and how they behaved in quarantine or if I purchased another animal that reset the clock before clearing all animals from quarantine. At this point my work day is done and I absolutely will NOT go to the shop to work with my animals on days I purchased a new animal and set it up in quarantine.
If I see any behavior I deem not normal or if a new snake isn't slamming food immediately I will hit it with a mid quarantine swab and submit another oral swab sample to be tested for Arenavirus, Nidovirus, Ophidian Paramyxovirus, and Sunshine Virus. Once the quarantine period is ending I like to perform an exit test and do one more final swab for viruses. Only once they have been deemed virus free from testing and made it through the several month long quarantine process and exhibited nothing but healthy behavior will I deem them fit to go into my breeding facility.
We are lucky enough that our breeding facility / collection is housed in a building100% dedicated to our animals. So we quarantine ALL new animals at our house and NEVER do any work with animals in quarantine until we are back at home for the night and before we jump in the shower. We absolutely under no circumstances will EVER mess with our quarantine racks before going into our facility. If we have to do any kind of work in the quarantine racks we are done working for the day and shower and do not go back to our facility until the next day. We have 4 different racks for quarantine so we may have multiple animals in quarantine at once, however, I NEVER rule animals quarantined and able to go into our building until 100% of the animals in our house have passed quarantine.
How can our bio security / quarantine procedures work for you? If you are just starting out like most people, us included at one point in the beginning, and have your collection in your house you can still quarantine! Quarantine is NOT something just for the people like us with a building dedicated to their animals, it's something ALL keepers at ALL levels big and small should practice. It can be as simple as a tub with a lid and a heat pad underneath on a thermostat that is kept in a different room from your collection. You would still be able to follow the same protocols as us and do all work with your new animals last. Even if you absolutely just can't keep y our new animals in a different room you can still set them up as far away from your existing colony as possible and practice good procedure by always touching them last after all work with your older established animals is finished.
If you have any questions please do not hesitate to ask!
My bio security measures start when I am shopping. I try my best to avoid buying animals from resellers simply because of the odds game. Even if they are doing their best to give animals proper care they just have a lot of animals coming and going and odds are if they buy enough animals a few are bound to come in with some kind of issue whether it be mites, parasites, or viruses. Many times resellers do not have any kind of quarantine or bio security measures in place and that is where the risk increases. I'm not saying all resellers have no quarantine but It is just my personal preference I start MY bio security by purchasing from sources that are selling animals they produced themselves.
Once I have found an animal I want to acquire from a breeder I trust and make a purchase I go to fill myself out an order form on Research Associates Laboratory and get my swabs ready! I always have my animals I purchase held for pickup at my local fedex facility and upon arrival I go back to my van and visually inspect the animal. I look very closely for any mites that may be present hiding under the scales and I check the gums/mouth to see if they are inflamed. Then I do my swab test by swabbing the mouth of the snake and getting a saliva sample. I then turn right back around and walk back in fedex and have my saliva sample overnighted to Research Associates Laboratory to be tested for the following viruses. Arenavirus, Nidovirus, Ophidian Paramyxovirus, and Sunshine Virus. I opt to use Research Associates Laboratory for my testing because I will get results the same day the receive the sample. Knock on wood I have never received an animal that came back testing positive but my plan was if I ever received a positive for a virus I would resubmit another sample immediately to Research Associates Laboraty as well as submitting a sample to Fish Head Labs. I have used Fish Head Labs in the past but they do a slightly different method of testing and the results take a little longer to get back. The thing about these viruses is that they may carry them but not be shedding the virus at a detectable amount when you do the swab which is why I always swab immediately upon receiving the animals since I am assuming they are stressed from shipping and if they are carriers they are shedding the virus while stressed.
Now that I have swabbed my newly purchased snakes mouth to get a saliva sample and had my sample sent overnight shipping to research associates laboratory I start my journey home to complete my quarantine procedure. The next step is mite treatment / prevention! I always visually inspect for mites but regardless if I see them or not I treat every animal for mites that I purchase. Before preventative treating I can't even count on my fingers how many times I had an animal I did not visually see mites on but had mites appear on them a few weeks into quarantine. This would be either the seller knew they had mites so treated the snake before shipping it but didn't kill the eggs or was battling a mite infestation and thought they had it under control but didn't kill all the eggs. Either way, I just go ahead and treat any incoming animals for mites for a few weeks to be sure if any eggs hatch they die immediately. The method I find that works the best and is the easiest for me is I buy a Hot Shot no-pest stripe and break the plastic housing open and cut a small square off about a 1inch by 1 inch square for an adult and a 1in x 1/2 in square for a baby. I place the chunk in a small 2oz portion container with a lid that has some holes poked in the cup. This has worked very well for me to preventatively make sure no mites hatch and has worked great killing adult mites on animals that came in with them visually noticeable on the snake. I keep ALL new animals on paper for a few weeks to make sure IF they have mites I can see them easily on the paper and also because I want to be able to visually inspect any stool samples and acquire samples to be submitted for fecal floats or tests for internal parasites.
At this point I set the clock for quarantine to begin. I keep all animals in quarantine for a minimum of 90 days. Sometimes I keep animals in quarantine for 6 months to 1 year depending on who I made the purchase from and how they behaved in quarantine or if I purchased another animal that reset the clock before clearing all animals from quarantine. At this point my work day is done and I absolutely will NOT go to the shop to work with my animals on days I purchased a new animal and set it up in quarantine.
If I see any behavior I deem not normal or if a new snake isn't slamming food immediately I will hit it with a mid quarantine swab and submit another oral swab sample to be tested for Arenavirus, Nidovirus, Ophidian Paramyxovirus, and Sunshine Virus. Once the quarantine period is ending I like to perform an exit test and do one more final swab for viruses. Only once they have been deemed virus free from testing and made it through the several month long quarantine process and exhibited nothing but healthy behavior will I deem them fit to go into my breeding facility.
We are lucky enough that our breeding facility / collection is housed in a building100% dedicated to our animals. So we quarantine ALL new animals at our house and NEVER do any work with animals in quarantine until we are back at home for the night and before we jump in the shower. We absolutely under no circumstances will EVER mess with our quarantine racks before going into our facility. If we have to do any kind of work in the quarantine racks we are done working for the day and shower and do not go back to our facility until the next day. We have 4 different racks for quarantine so we may have multiple animals in quarantine at once, however, I NEVER rule animals quarantined and able to go into our building until 100% of the animals in our house have passed quarantine.
How can our bio security / quarantine procedures work for you? If you are just starting out like most people, us included at one point in the beginning, and have your collection in your house you can still quarantine! Quarantine is NOT something just for the people like us with a building dedicated to their animals, it's something ALL keepers at ALL levels big and small should practice. It can be as simple as a tub with a lid and a heat pad underneath on a thermostat that is kept in a different room from your collection. You would still be able to follow the same protocols as us and do all work with your new animals last. Even if you absolutely just can't keep y our new animals in a different room you can still set them up as far away from your existing colony as possible and practice good procedure by always touching them last after all work with your older established animals is finished.
If you have any questions please do not hesitate to ask!
