Hi Fons
Primarily i didn't notice anything. I do some faeces tests at least once a year (or by initial purchase) and there i became the result: "Cryptosporidium - positiv". Cryptosporidium is a very hard protozoa which is resistent against almost all disinfectant. Just chlorine and other very strong disinfectant can "kill" it. That's one big problem by this disease. Another one is, there's not really a medicine which heal the snakes. We (the mammals generally) are almost resistent against Cryptosporidium (parvum in this case). Only people with a bad immune system can be attacked by these protozoa.
I'm not really frightened about that case. Because the sick ones were placed in another building. I just went to the sick ones if i didn't had to do anything by the new ones. Every fixtures which had contact to the sick snakes were thrown away. I had strict hygiene principles (one way gloves, etc).
The symptoms are:
1. diarrhea
2. puke out the feed
3. "body blow up"
The cryptos attacks the bowel till it can't gathering anything. That's the reason why they puke the feed out. it's propably one of the worst diseases that our snakes can have!
I tried 2 different medicines.
1. Baycox (usually used for porks and company)
2. Agent: zithromax (antibiotics) together with zylexis (immune strongerer)
Both doesn't really make it better. Another problem is, stress make all worser. It isn't possible to inject the medicine without stress. By a Python, it's much more easier, but by our lovely Thamnophis, it's always aligned with a lot of stress. Either with the disinfecting of the cages. Another "stress-point".
In the last 2 weeks they got worser and worser. So i decided for the euthanasia.
There's only the sirtalis x flame which make a good impression. Maybe he's getting fit (i don't really believe...), otherwise i'll keep her till the day she looking sick.
Regars,
Cyrill