Quote Originally Posted by Zephyr View Post
So, is the solution to the myths surrounding thiaminase-"filled" fish to feed the fish themselves a varied diet and increase the quality of their surroundings?
Well, that one study says that the amount of thiaminase in alewives is unrelated to the amount of thiamine they contain. That last study I posted, on the forage species in the Great Lakes, found that thiaminase levels in some fish go UP with the amount of thiamine they contain (I didn't post that part). So I don't think that changing the husbandry and feeding of feeder fish is a 100% solution - they'd still contain thiaminase, but they may also contain more thiamine and might therefore be less deficient by the time they're digested. But you couldn't really know (unless you've got a thiamine/thiaminase test kit in your basement!) whether you had a safe feeder at the end of all that.

Quote Originally Posted by Zephyr
Could a parasite be the cause of these seizures, as opposed to the fish's thiaminase content?
Good point. Very generally, I know there are parasites that get into the brain, especially in non-adapted host species. But I don't know if there are any that could be transmitted from fish (or other feeders) to snakes. I'm not terribly hopeful that this has even been studied, but I'd love to know if anyone finds anything on it...