Your veterinarian will start by taking a thorough medical history and give a physical examination.
Age or sex predispositions have not been well documented. Given the variety of snake species that have been diagnosed with IBD, it is likely that any species of snake can be infected. Snakes who can get this include Boa constrictors ( Boa constrictor), green anacondas ( Eunectes murinus), Haitian boas ( Epicrates striatus), ringed tree boas ( Corallus annulatus), garden tree boas ( Corallus hortulanus), Burmese pythons ( Python molurus), reticulated pythons ( Malapython (Python) reticulatus), ball pythons ( Python regius), and Australian pythons ( Morelia spilota variegata and Morelia spilota spilota).Ī similar disease has been described in colubrid species of snakes, such as the Californian king snake ( Lampropeltis getula) and corn snakes ( Pantherophis guttaus) and in viperids, i.e., captive palm vipers ( Botriechis marchi). IBD is most commonly known to affect boas and pythons from several genera. Under specific laboratory conditions, a Reptarenavirus is zoonotic but the likelihood of people getting this virus from their snake is unknown and very unlikely. While we do not understand how IBD is transmitted, it nonetheless spreads rapidly between captive animals, particularly when there is a snake mite infestation. Recently, mounting evidence has pointed to a new and unusual arenavirus in the genus Reptarenavirus as the cause of IBD. The cause of IBD is not yet confirmed however, a viral infection (a type of retrovirus) has historically been considered the most likely cause. Inadequate husbandry is the most common cause of immune suppression in snakes, often related to improper temperature and humidity, poor hygiene, and stress from excessive handling. The risk is particularly high when the captive collection has a snake mite ( Ophionyssus natricis) infestation. Snakes living in mixed species collections that add new snakes regularly and have poor quarantine protocols have a higher risk of getting IBD.
#Baby boa constrictor python skin#
Snakes usually have multiple signs, which may also include a swollen mouth, poor body condition, skin disease, difficulty breathing, lethargy and decreased mental activity, impaired righting reflex (the ability to orient the body back to an upright position), decreased muscle tone, and constipation. In boas and pythons with the disease, the main clinical signs of IBD are central nervous system (brain) symptoms, such as head tremor (shaking), pupils of uneven size, muscle spasms that cause the head to arch backwards (sometimes called stargazing), and regurgitation (vomiting) on and off.
In contrast, pythons generally develop severe fatal neurological symptoms within a few weeks. In boas, the disease outcome varies affected animals either die within weeks or months or become healthy-looking carriers of the disease. This is probably a consequence of immunosuppression since both red and white blood cells, as well as the cells of the bone marrow, also develop the typical inclusion bodies that probably impair the function of these cells.
These infections cause diseases of the brain, lungs (pneumonia), liver, stomach, intestine, bones, and cancers of the blood (lymphoma). No treatments or vaccines are available.Īffected snakes usually die from secondary infections, such as bacterial (salmonellosis), fungal (aspergillosis), protozoal (amoebiasis), and blood infections that take over due to a weakened immune system. IBD is the most commonly diagnosed disease suspected to originate with a virus in captive boid (boas and pythons) snakes. Ultimately fatal, inclusion body disease (IBD) is a transmissible and progressive disease first described several decades ago.
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