Vomiting/Regurging Questions

[Chu'Wuti]

I have a friend--a VERY experienced snakekeeper--who acquired a snake from a member of our herp society who is retiring from herps.

Species: Everglades Rat Snake-Corn snake?? hybrid
Age: Unknown, may be quite old as he was used as a program snake for educational purposes for a looooong time

All heat, humidity, & other husbandry parameters are correct--the current owner is a colubrid breeder and truly knows what he is doing. In addition, he has tried tweaking them to see if warmer or colder temps would help with the snake's regurg issue, etc.

Food: The keeper has tried everything--rats and mice, larger, smaller, even pinkies, thinking maybe the snake was having difficulty digesting fur for some reason.

Parasites: The snake has been treated with Panacur

Problem: 2-3 days after eating, the snake vomits half-digested prey items. If the item was fairly large, it is clearly what was fed; if fed pinkies, they were almost indistinguishable. The snake IS gaining weight (he was underweight when my friend acquired him). However, we would like to eliminate the vomiting!

Suggestions?? Thanks!!

[KORBIN5895]

Isn't vomiting a sign of crypto?

[rmfsnakes32]

Isn't vomiting a sign of crypto?

What is crypto?

[KORBIN5895]

Isn't that the corn snake disease?

[Greatballzofire]

Cryptosporidiosis in Snakes

Cryptosporidiosis is an increasingly diagnosed parasitic infection in reptile collections, particularly in snakes. The course of the disease is unusual since it tends to be self-limiting in immunocompetent bovines, canines, felines, and other species, but can be fatal in its reptilian host. The infection is often insidious in onset, causing irreversible pathological changes before physical signs develop. Clinically healthy, intermittent shedders may become symptomatic years after the parasite is first diagnosed in the animal. Additionally, the affected animal may die acutely, or the clinical disease may take up to two years before killing its host.

The life cycle of Cryptosporidium serpentis is thought to be similar to that of Cryptosporidium parvum,muris, and other species in mammals. Two types of infective stages are produced. The first is a thick-walled oocyst which contains four sporozoites. The oocysts are passed in the feces and remain infective in the environment for months, where they are extremely resistant to temperature extremes and disinfectants. These oocysts are responsible for both infections in new hosts as well as reinfection of the original host. The oocysts are ingested, and the four sporozoites are released. The second stage involves four sporozoites encased not in a thick wall, but rather in a single, thin membrane. This membrane ruptures after breaking out of a host cell, releasing the sporozoites and immediately reinfecting the host animal. In both stages, the sporozoites infect the microvillus border of the gastric glands, and in snakes, lesions are usually localized to the stomach.

The classic presentation of Cryptosporidium serpentis infection in the snake is an animal which regurgitates its meal within four days or less of ingestion. This regurgitation occurs because of decreased gastric lumen size and mucosal irritation. Since the diameter of the stomach has often increased, a noticeable swelling can be visualized and palpated in the mid-body region. The snake may

or may not be anorexic, depending^n how far the disease has progressed. Often, a mucoid diarrhea is noticed.

It is important to differentiate Cryptosporidiosis from other causes of regurgitation and gastritis. Suboptimal temperatures, inappropriate prey size, stress, and foreign body obstructions are other potential causes of regurgitation. Hibernation associated necrotizing gastroenteritis, parasitism from other protozoa and nematodes, viruses, Salmonella and other bacteria can all cause similar signs, but the gastric swelling is pathognomonic for Cryptosporidiosis.

In the living animal, Cryptosporidiosis can be diagnosed by gastric lavage,endoscopic gastric biopsy, fecal smears, and smears of mucous adhered to regurgitated prey items. Since oocysts are intermittently shed, it is recommended that multiple samples be taken. It is important to note that a negative result does not imply that the animal is not infected, only that oocysts may not be present in the particular sample. Acid fast staining is the preferred technique for cytology and fecal preparations, and is easily performed.

Gross lesions include gastric hyperplasia and fibrosis, a decreased diameter of the gastric lumen, and an increased overall diameter of the stomach. Often, the gastric mucosa will be edematous and the rugal folds thickened longitudinally. Additionally, petechial hemorrhage and focal areas of necrosis may be observed.

Histopathologically, the microvillus brush border becomes disrupted as new oocysts burst out of their host cells. The acid secreting cells that line the gastric pits become reduced in number. Mucous secreting cells are hyperplastic, and the mucosa atrophies while the submucosa and musculature becomes fibrotic.Leukocytes may be present in response to the inflammatory process, and the lamina propria may become edematous. The organisms are microscopically visible attached to the epithelial cells of the brush border microvilli. It is recommended that multiple samples of gastric tissue, taken at necropsy, be submitted for histopathology in order to improve the chances of recognizing the organism.

Currently, there is no evidence that Cryptosporidium serpentis is transmissible to humans or other mammals.

References available upon request.

-by David Kolins, Class of 1996

-Edited by M. Randy White, DVM,PhD

[Terranaut]

I think we had a member here from Sudbury if I remember right lose a bunch of corns to this.

[Starbuck]

If it is a very old snake, i wouldnt rule out the possibility of a tumor on/obstructing the GI, or affecting the intestines, causing the snake to not be able to fully digest... though i would think if this were the case it would be ok with smaller prey like pinkies.
Sounds like a vet visit is needed?

[shaunyboy]

If it is a very old snake, i wouldnt rule out the possibility of a tumor on/obstructing the GI, or affecting the intestines, causing the snake to not be able to fully digest... though i would think if this were the case it would be ok with smaller prey like pinkies.
Sounds like a vet visit is needed?

get your vet to do fecial tests and also an ultra sound for tumours,etc

cheers shaun

[jarich]

Does likely sound like crypto to me. If its been happening this long then it should be pretty easy for the vet to find evidence of crypto. If its crypto, then its pretty simple to treat now, I believe.

[NBLADE]

Does likely sound like crypto to me. If its been happening this long then it should be pretty easy for the vet to find evidence of crypto. If its crypto, then its pretty simple to treat now, I believe.

Any info on this? As far as i know and according to a few vets i speak to, Cryptosporidium serpentis currently has no cure. Some snakes can pull round and live with it for years with no more issues, but will always be a carrier and risk spreading it to other snakes. If there is now a cure i'd be very interested to read about it and pass the info on to them, as for now they currently reccomend euthanizing any snake that is found to be carrying it, due to the risk to other snakes, and the slow painful death that it can cause when it takes over.


To the original poster, regurging in snakes continuously can be a sign of crytpo, but they also generally get a lump or swelling in the stomach with that, which is often the first sign. A few fecal tests will rule out crypto, (one negative result isn't clear, as may be the wrong time in the life cycle for them to be shedding, so wont be present in the poo), three negative tests would give them the all clear, and then could get an x ray or ultra sound on the snake to see what was going on internally, as could be a blockage or issue internally. Could always just be old age also, depending on the snakes actual age, but without a vet checking the snake over properly, it will be very hard to determine a cause.

[Starbuck]

As a note, from what i've read r.e. crypto; it is highly contagious to other snakes; be sure the cage furniture/waterbowls/cage itself are kept ONLY for this snake, and honestly i would be leery of using it to house any other snakes in the future. Any updates?

[jarich]

You're right, I spoke a little too fast apparently. Sorry I should not have said it was easy to cure, but rather that there appears to be a very promising option now. It's called hyper immune bovine colostrum (HBC).

[NBLADE]

You're right, I spoke a little too fast apparently. Sorry I should not have said it was easy to cure, but rather that there appears to be a very promising option now. It's called hyper immune bovine colostrum (HBC).

That is very good news then. Hopefully they will be able to cure it for good soon. I'll have to bring it up next time i speak to my friends, see what they know about it.

[jarich]

Ya, sorry, I was led to believe it was more straightforward than it actually is. I shouldnt have said it was easy, but rather just that there is a treatment. Apparently it's more effective with snakes than lizards (different Crypto species of course) but so far the treatment looks very promising.

[Chu'Wuti]

Guys, you are fabulous. Thank you ALL for the information you've contributed. I was especially glad to read the detailed information on cryptosporidiosis in snakes. I have a feeling this may be the case.

I didn't ask but am willing to bet that my friend quarantined the snake, because he is a firm believer in quarantine. Because I was already suspicious about the possibility of nonhelminth parasitic infection, I asked him to get a fecal sample to a vet several days ago but haven't heard back. I am going to send this information to him along with the tip to check the snake's abdomen for swelling.

And, yes, it definitely could just be old age; the original owner is quite old, which is one reason he's getting out of the business (his wife recently had a stroke, too). I joined the local herp society a decade ago and he was white-haired then. The new owner is older than I, but not "OLD." Of course, some of you young people would probably consider both of us "OLD." :yes:

Very briefly, I looked for research on hyperimmune bovine colostrum (colostrum is the first "milk" produced by a mammal for its newborn; it is generally replaced by true milk in 24-72 hours if nursing is going properly). Quite interesting, and certainly among the "now" research in which scientists use a disease to stimulate antibody production in an organ system, etc. I'm going to spend a little time on my university's access to the World of Knowledge database and see what more I can find.

I'll let you know whether I find more information pertaining to snakes!

[Roman]

Hi Sandy,

an additional information about diagnostics of cryptosporidiosis. I don’t know about the US, here in Germany you can buy a test set (basically just a small tube where you put some fecal material and an envelope) which you can send to a test laboratory. They do some standard parasitological tests and an IFT (immune fluorescence test) to find cryptosporidium. This test shows if there are cryptosporidium present, but it is not possible to identify them with this test.

For identification you need to do a PCR (Polymerase Chain Reaction). One of my snakes showed cryptosporidium, so I had to look for a laboratory which would do this test and found the veterinary medical institute of the university Vienna in Austria. They did this test and found no cryptosporidium, so in this case it was just some cryptosporidium the snake got with its last food item but no infection of the snake itself. If there had been cryptosporidium present they could have identified them.

Roman

[Chu'Wuti]

Interesting! I haven't seen anything about commercially available cryptosporidium test kits in my research so far, though I've obtained a lot of information about diagnosis and treatment. I want to take the time to read it carefully before I post any information, as I want to be sure to post ACCURATE information when I post what I find. However, just briefly, a few points:

1) Cryptosporidium exists all over the world
2) There are multiple species, many of which are host-specific to mammals while others are host-specific to other animals such as various reptiles
3) It appears (I stress APPEARS--I am looking for reliable statistics) that a significant proportion of captive snakes are infected, at least in some areas. Some zoos have lost whole populations.
4) It can take, sometimes/often, 3 fecal analyses to correctly diagnose cryptosporidiosis, because a single sample may not show oocysts even though the snake is actually infected--presence of oocysts in the feces is dependent upon the life stage of the cryptosporidium at the time of sampling.
5) No single treatment is fully effective.
6) Some combined treatments have been fairly efficacious in reducing the protozoan load but NO treatments so far have presented a complete cure.

My friend who has the snake is still working with the snake in hopes of helping it; I have not heard anything about him taking a fecal sample to a vet (or even multiple samples). :eek: I'm saddened by that . . .

I will post more information as soon as I can--I got interrupted by another snake rescue, because our herp society is partnered with the local animal shelters to help with herps. Never a dull moment!

Thanks for your patience!