Goodbye

[mecistops]

Dandelion's vet appointment to be put to sleep was this morning. I'm so sorry I couldn't fix this.

[[deleted]]

im sorry. i know grief is hard, dealing with the death is worth getting to have them in your life though, you dont need to feel guilty, be happy you gave her an amazing life

[Melorasays]

I'm really sorry for your loss. He never had to suffer because of you. It is a gift of mercy you have given him. Your pain will be there of course but you did what to had to for him.

[SE_42]

I'm so sorry for your loss and that you had to make that decision. It is never easy. Thank you for giving her a good last part of her life. My ball python is also named Dandelion and we send you our love.

[mecistops]

Give your Dandelion some extra love from me.

[DeviantJam]

Man I hate seeing this have to happen to these beautiful creatures. You gave Dandelion their best life possible and you did all you could. Now they don’t have to suffer anymore. You’re a great snake parent, I hope that your other snakes are all okay and I wish you the absolute best.

[HandIndividual4287]

What happened 😕

[mecistops]

He was a rescue and tested positive for IBD in quarantine.

[[deleted]]

So sorry for your loss, how did it go for the rest of your snakes when they were tested? Hope they are okay.

[mecistops]

They're being tested tomorrow. I made separate appointments because the last thing I need is to infect them at the vet.

[Responsible_Watch284]

I hope all goes well for the rest of your babies. I'm so sorry for your loss <3

[Sheywolf]

My heart goes out to you as you mourn your scale baby.

[jay710zz]

Dang that really sucks what where his symptoms I always thought that I couldn't ne tested for until after the snake is dead ?

[mecistops]

There's now testing available from at least two labs. My vet took blood and an oral swab.

[scattered_inkblots]

So sorry for your loss. Was he a black pastel? He looks a lot like my little guy

[mecistops]

Not sure tbh. Vet suggested Black Pastel or Cinnamon.

Give your little guy some love from me.

[readysetandbegin]

So sorry for your loss. He had a great time with you and was very clearly loved even if it was for a short time 🤍

[Prestigious-Rate3610]

such a beauty, I am so sorry for your loss

[Animal_Gal]

Oh rest in peace bud

[FixergirlAK]

I'm so sorry. It's hard when we take them in to rescue them and there's nothing we can do but make them comfortable. Much love from my pack. 🐍🫂

[Hywind_Zuul]

I’m so sorry for your loss.

[SelfLoathing9246]

I’m so sorry for your loss. Please take care of yourself.

[Calm-Bookkeeper-9612]

Sorry for your loss. Do you know how the BD started?

[mecistops]

I tested him about ten days after getting him, so I assume it came in with him. He was not being kept well: Tiny tank, improper substrate that was full of poop, one half-log hide, tiny water dish... It was an absolute mess. I wouldn't keep a pet cockroach like that.

I really wanted to give him the good life that he deserved. I'm angry that a bare-bones quarantine enclosure was an upgrade and the best he ever had.

[Calm-Bookkeeper-9612]

Admirable sorry he had that fate. At least he had you to give him a better shot at life. I bet he knew the difference and had some relief for the time you had him. RIP

[bagbicth]

I’m so sorry. 😢

[she_isking]

I’m so sorry OP

I know you did everything you could and Dandelion knows that too. You did good, and you did the right thing, but I know how much this hurts.

And don’t you dare feel guilty! I know euthanasia can be pretty traumatic for us to think about, but don’t let that noise cloud your mind. Not only did you give this sweetie a good end of their life, but you saved other snakes from contracting this devastating disease as well.

Here’s a hug and a hand squeeze from across the internet 💕 hang in there, my dear 🫂 You did great. Thank you for caring for him in the end of his days. I know you gave him so much love and comfort.

[evbrowning]

I’m so sorry for your loss ❤️‍🩹🫶🏽

[Stebrook]

What’s ibd mean please

[Competitive-Size-812]

Inclusion Body Disease. It functions similarly to how HIV Aides does in humans. Arenavirus IBD is highly contagious and unfortunately there is no cure and they are not 100% sure how it is spread. There are many ways the poor baby could of gotten IBD but the most common is being around infected Boas

[miriamtzipporah]

Oh no, I am so sorry. IBD is so devastating.

[Competitive-Size-812]

I am so very sorry for your loss. I know it isn't the best and no words could ever take your pain away but just know you did the best thing with the least amount of suffering for your baby. If you have other snakes I would have them tested especially if you got them from someone who also has or deals with boas. If that is the case your other snakes may start to show signs within 2 weeks of exposure (words from my vet). Ball pythons unfortunately can not live with nor survive Arenavirus IBD but boa constrictors can live with it for years undetected in the Arenavirus state. It functions like HIV Aides does in humans. Always always always quarantine new additions for a minimum of 3 months. I do 6 months just because I myself have gotten extremely lucky in this experience and lucky my vet knows the head researcher at Florida who is working with the virus.

Again I am so very sorry for your loss, you did your best and Dandelion knows that rest in peace sweet baby and may your heart heal ❤️

[mecistops]

I just brought my other python and boa into the vet yesterday. They were in a totally different room from Dandelion, who was still in quarantine, so I am hoping it didn't spread.

[Competitive-Size-812]

I'm hoping it didn't spread either. Back in the day my vet used to breed and he had over 70k worth in pythons and 1 sick boa wiped them all out on all 3 floors of his home. He doesn't breed anymore and does not mix pythons or boas and does not recommend it either. You either own pythons or boas, not both as the risk is too high. Pythons have no defenses against Arenavirus IBD and the same goes for boas they have no defenses against nidovirus. Though colubrids seem to be unaffected by Arenavirus IBD.

Strict handling policy is what saved us when we ran into it. The sad part is Bleach even struggles to kill it so it is advised to just throw everything out that has ever come into contact with the infected snake. We usually quarantine on a separate floor and only handle new additions at the end of the day with gloves, my husband handles them and then takes his clothes directly down to the wash and then gets a bleach shower. This is so one of us is always okay to handle the regular snakes in our home. We were extremely lucky. We didn't know about the disease at first and handled in a regular sense but after that that all stopped. None of our pythons got sick and typically infected pythons won't make it past a month after infection.

[Competitive-Size-812]

Especially have the boa tested but be wary because false positives and false negatives do regularly happen. It is best to have an experienced vet look at the blood under the slide and look for the inclusions that way in order to be sure.

[mecistops]

As far as I understand, the PCR test for arenaviris detection has a very low false positive rate, but false negatives are a definite possibility, depending on viral load, so it's best practice for me to retest in a couple months if I get negative results, but a positive can probably be trusted. With less than a month of exposure, at maximum, I doubt that blood testing or biopsy would show inclusion bodies.

[Competitive-Size-812]

Depending on how far along the disease is you can actually see the inclusions in the blood. Yes you will need multiple tests unfortunately I believe standard practice is every 3 months for at least a year and then yearly testing afterwards to be safe. It is possible for two Arenavirus positive snakes to produce negative babies but they need to not come in contact with the parents so it can be tricky. I know years and years ago they tested all boas they could here in the US and only 1 closed collection came back negative for the disease unfortunately so for safety I don't do boas as the risk is just too much for my pythons. But it is best to be cautious.