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do wild anoles,tree frogs & toads carry deseas
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by challenger on November 1, 2004
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do wild anoles,tree frogs & toads carry desease? I feed these to my neo copperhead untill my mouse colony gets going but just thought of this possibilty. If so what does one look for in a sick neo?
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RE: do wild anoles,tree frogs & toads carry de
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by guttersnacks on November 1, 2004
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Yes, they can be carriers of diseases. Any wild animals could possibly be carrying something. Im no expert on diseases, but if possible, I would recommend freezing your food items before offering them. This will reduce your chances of passing something on to your copperheads. There is no way to tell externally if your animal is carrying some kind of intestinal parasite unless you keep them for long term observation. Just catch 1 or 2 of each animal, freeze them, and use scenting if possible. It'll be much safer.
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RE: do wild anoles,tree frogs & toads carry de
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by challenger on November 1, 2004
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Buy - that takes a lot of fun out of owning a hot. I wonder, if I have already made my boy sick , if there is a way to see, tell or test for desease. Is this how most of the wild ones die?
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RE: do wild anoles,tree frogs & toads carry de
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by Phobos on November 1, 2004
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Hi: Howard:
Yes, natural food for all snakes carry some sort of Parasite: Nematodes & Protozooians are common. They can cause a high mortality rate in captive collections. With your neonate Copperhead I would not worry too much at the moment. He's my reasoning why.
It's very important to get it's feeding habits established because if it's not feeding or keeping hydrated this will kill it fast too. Once you have it transitioned to pinkies and is gaining weight then take a fresh stool sample to the Vet to be screened for unwanted critters.
The drugs most effective in treating reptiles for Protozooan infection is Flagyl which is pretty toxic. The best worming (nematode) drug for reptiles is Pancure which is effective and has a larger tolerance of error than Flagyl. The nice thing about these drugs are they can be injected into the food then fed to the infected snake, others may need to be given by feeding tube...Yikes! The snake will have to be weighed for an accurate dose if infected. It's very tricky dosing a 6 gram snakes with just enough to do the trick and not enough to be a problem itself. This is another reason to let some weight get on it's bones before trying this.
I made my own dilute stocks of these drugs because the commonly found concentrations are in some cases 100x's more than you need. I can tell interested parties where to obtain these two items by private email if they require them. Always use a Vet Lab for the diagnostic part although the Vet will not want to treat your snake for obivious reasons, Hell I don't like getting close to the end that bites. If he will prescribe the required drugs..cool if not then we have to work around the problem.
I suggested getting the book reviewed on this site:
http://www.venomousreptiles.org/reviews/detail/10
It will explain all you need to know on how to spot problems before they get really bad. The best spent $10.00 you'll have this year.
Try to feed only food items that have been frozen for at least 30 days. Have your animals stool checked once every 6 months or sooner if you suspect a problem. I use exam gloves and lots of clorox as a disinfectant that I clean all my tools with between snakes & cages. You can't be too careful.
Hope this clears up the issue.
Good luck,
Al
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RE: do wild anoles,tree frogs & toads carry de
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by challenger on November 1, 2004
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Phobus-thanks for the very comprehensive answer. Right now I can collect a lot of anoles and start freesing them. He will be too large for small ones so I need to get some of the larger ones. I also have read they eat toads but read somewhere else they are toxic to some snakes? I can get toads by the dozens and freeze some nice size ones. This would realy help expenses and convenience.
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RE: do wild anoles,tree frogs & toads carry de
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by Phobos on November 1, 2004
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Howard:
Yes, Toads are toxic to many snakes but Copperheads are okay with them. It's actually one of their natural food items.
Al
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