Opinions on Quarantine

[cowana]

I was just wanting to hear everyone's opinion on Quarantine. It seems like everyone has their own way of doing it as far as what is right and wrong.

I currently have a SHTCTB female in QT that I plan on adding in with my other female when her stay in solitary is up. She is set up in a spare bedroom (my other tanks are in my bedroom) and will spend 90 days by herself. I have taken her to a vet already and so far has shown a clean bill of health with no parasites in the fecal. (My other Leos and Beardie, also have clean vet checks and fecals as of their last check a few months ago.)

For her quarantine I have her in a 10 gallon (with decor) that had been sanitized with a light bleach solution, and throughly rinsed and dried. I make sure that (as always) I was my hands well for 20 seconds after handling any of my reptiles to stop any disease spread.

How does everyone else handle a quarantine period?

Amy

 

[indyana]

Similar. I have a 10 gallon cage that I use for quarantine, set up with plastic hides and dishes for easy cleaning. Right when I get a new animal, I send out a test by mail for Cryptosporidium and make certain I get a negative result. There's a thread about that on the forum if you're not certain what that is:
http://geckoforums.net/f130-health-medications/98813.htm

I then keep the quarantine animal isolated for at least three months. That means doing care at the end of my rounds, after all my healthy animals, using a completely different set of tools, and never bringing anything from that cage near my other reptiles or the feeder colonies. Around the second month, I usually take a fecal sample to my vet to be checked for parasites to see if they will require worming.

Usually, I just clean the cage with chlorhexidine spray. The cage gets a good scrub with soap and hot water and a longer soak with chlorhexidine between animals. If I ever had an issue with Crypto, I would have to use ammonia or just toss everything.

 

[cowana]

Thanks for the Crypto info. I knew about the disease, but I wasn't aware you could send off for a Crypto test. I always just had my vet do one for me and would wait to get my results through him.

Seems like we follow a pretty close quarantine protocol. I use chlorhexidine for my cage cleans, and always do my QT animals last as well.

I have been lucky so far and have never had any herps with serious illness, but I always quarantine and vet check just in case. Thankfully, worst I've ever had was a Malaysian Box Turtle that developed an Upper Respiratory Infection.

 

[indyana]

It's always better to be safe than sorry. I hear stories all the time about keepers who've introduced parasites into their collections. I think we're lucky in that leopard geckos don't seem to have any common airborne or viral diseases. The worse thing we have to worry about is Crypto, which is why I test every new reptile that comes into my home.

Depending on your vet, the mail order test could be a lot cheaper. I've heard some outrageous prices mentioned for a Crypto test, and the one from Avian Biotech is $24.50 plus the money you spend to send the sample. PCR testing is also the most reliable test at the moment, and all vets may not use that type of test.

Another point to remember is not indirectly transmitting disease to your collection. For example, you go to a reptile show or pet store and touch things, then come home and take care of your own reptiles. A lot of people completely change and shower after coming home from a show, and it's a good practice, especially if you've been touching animals.

 

[Tongue Flicker]

Thanks for the Crypto info. I knew about the disease, but I wasn't aware you could send off for a Crypto test. I always just had my vet do one for me and would wait to get my results through him.

Seems like we follow a pretty close quarantine protocol. I use chlorhexidine for my cage cleans, and always do my QT animals last as well.

I have been lucky so far and have never had any herps with serious illness, but I always quarantine and vet check just in case. Thankfully, worst I've ever had was a Malaysian Box Turtle that developed an Upper Respiratory Infection.

I have the same turtle too

Anyways, for me i just do a 30-day isolation. I don't really house my leos together so not much of an issue to me