Paramyxo - what are the symptoms? [Archive]

miss-jungle

01-21-08, 10:10 AM

hello - i work in a reptile department of a garden center, and a customer has expressed concern that he thinks a snake we sold him has Paramyxo disease - i don't even know what this is! i have done some searching on the net and mostly found arguments on the forums, is there anyone who can help - im worried that if we did sell a snake that was infected - others in our collection could be. The snake in question had been sold to us privately and we cannot be sure of its previous conditions etc, and was only with us for a week or two before moving on to its current home. it was infected with mites when we bought him but was treated successfully, and showed no symptoms as far as we could tell of further illness. i would really appreciate some advice as there could be a lot of lovely creatures at risk!

MorbidMindset

01-30-08, 08:33 AM

this is things i found on the net about this virus. i hope it helps..it was in another forum and i pasted all the replys. no arguing just info.....

Ophidian Paramyxo Virus seems to be what my licorice stick black rat snake died from today... but I was told i could get a vacciene called Colombovac to treat hte rest of my collection with.. to be sure they're ok. Where can i go about getting this? Any ideas?

the treatment cost for this virus ran about $400 per snake and as a norm the snake with it still died or if it lived was never the same. The treatment vaccine that shows up here is new to me in name. Of course you probably know that quite possibly all of ones collection is eligible of getting this if precautions were not followed on husbandry as easily by even ones hands of changing water containers or handling other snakes in the collection. With the old method of treatment a fecal, blood, or mouth swap was in order of the other snakes in ones collection. Most people couldn't/can't afford this so a very careful examination of quarantine methods and ongoing husbandry for months of any snakes appearing to be doing or showing any strange sign of abnormalities is paramount ( or even if they are not showing any signs ). All that I know of this disease of virus, and i have had it 2 times of long years ago in my venomous collection and my Trans-Pecos Rat Snake collection, the synopsis is not good once the snake has gotten it. I wish you all the luck in the world...........

Hotman, I did some more research into it and was told that as far as this guy was aware that the CPV never mutated into effecting colubrids. Was he misinformed?

where would this have been introduced from? I have done everything possible to keep my snakes in as sterile as possible conditions, everyone has their own cage, however if it is airborne, then it wouldn't be too difficult for them to transmit since all the cages are together. The only possible way that I can think it would get transferred is I would stack the water bowls when taking them to the sink to wash 'em out.

From what i've read, the CPV can be in the body for up to 7-10 months before ever showing any symptoms, however the snakes are dead as soon as 3 days after the symptoms start showing.

I'm going to get a necropsoy done tomorrow, what do you think the chances that this CPV is really the reason why it died? I've talked to a few other people, and they think it was a bacterial infection.