Parassites

[LisaT]

Hi to all!
I have a question, might be stupid but I'm quite ignorant in the matter.
I was wondering how can a snake get internal parassites if fed on frosen mouse and is helthy when bought. Can it pick them up from the enviroment if previously there was a corn with parassites in it?
I'm asking because I bought a hachling corn that died two weeks later, I have not had the chance to take the body to the vet to see way but the only thing I can think of is parassites, it ate a pinky and regurgitated the day after. After that she refused to eat and died. She was not overly thin and had not been without food so long to think it was starvation (1 and a half week). I cleand out her enclosure sterilizing all but the bark slab I keep for climbing on (did'nt know how to do it) I put another hatcling in there, he ate and shed 5 times. Then the same problem starts, refuses food and regurgitates when accepting. I was going to take him to the vet one morning but got up to find him dead...any thougts?
I have 4 other snakes, two corns and one pueblan and they are doing just fine...
Thanks
Lisa

[eyespy]

Well, there's a few things I can think of here.

First of all, even if a snake gets a clean fecal, there is still a small chance that it truly does have parasites. It's only when the parasites are in plentiful enough numbers in the lower half of the digestive tract that eggs and/or worms show up in good enough numbers to make it to the fecal float slides. So a "none seen" result isn't necessarily negative and they might have had beginning infestations high up in the small intestine. This is especially true of protozoans, particularly coccidia.

Parasite eggs can sometimes remain clinging to the cage walls or furniture after sterilizing. Or to surfaces you touched after handling the snakes, where you can later transer them back to the cage. Coccidians have a hard shell coating around the oocysts and are somewhat resistant to bleach and other sterilizing agents. Some literature suggests that ammonia is the best thing to penetrate into the oocyst, and other sources recommend a combination of vinegar and hydrogen peroxide. The odds of a good rinse not removing the stuff is pretty remote though so this is not a very likely possibility.

Another possibility is that it was a bacterial, fungal or viral infection. Adenovirus is becoming a problem among inbred cornsnakes, and it is an airborne infection. No matter how much you sterilize the cage and furnishings, the virus can be found throughout the room. Some bacteria and fungi are also airborne. Did these hatchlings come from the same breeder or store? The possibility of them having some infection goes way up if that is the case. It can take weeks or even months for an infection to show symptoms so you can never be sure that a hatchling is completely healthy.

The most likely possibility, however, is merely that the hatchlings were not strong to begin with. Mortality rates among hatchlings in captivity are much lower than in the wild, but there is still a percentage of snakes that are born with nutritional deficiencies that make it difficult for them to digest food, or outright birth defects.

Whatever the reason, I am deeply sorry for your losses.

[LisaT]

Thanx for your answer,
I guess I must keep clenaing the cages as best as I can hoping the disinfectant works and that it's not a virus. The hatcling ate happily from April untill the start of Jannuary so I don't think he was weak or not made to live... he might as you said have parassites or there might be a virus but I dread that thought!
He arrived with a Female from the same breader...I had Loooots of trouble with her and had to force feed twice before she started feeding by herselfe and is now nice an chubby. (she was a bag of bones before...I realy did not think she would make it...)
It's so strange, I would not have bet a penny on her and then it's the strongest eater that whent...

Ciao ^_^
Lisa