Anytime a new reptile is introduced into your home or collection, it is important that you quarantine it prior to introducing it into their new environment. This will allow you to identify if the reptile has any notable health issues from its previous home.
In the event that your reptile is unwell or is undergoing treatment for a health concern, quarantine is essential to prevent the spread of disease.
Whether it is a group of snakes or a group of people, the concept of quarantine is the same. The goal is to separate and stop the movement of individuals that have been exposed to or may have potentially been exposed to pathogens, to see if they become sick before they are mixed with the general population.
This means that once an animal or group of animals is quarantined, no new animals should be added to that area.
The most effective way to set up a quarantine area is to keep the individual(s) concerned in a completely different location. This means having a separate facility off-site, with no other reptiles around. Anyone entering the area should not have had prior contact with any other reptiles in recent times.
All clothes and materials should be kept on-site and not used for any other purpose aside from managing the individual(s) in quarantine. Protective clothing should be worn, and disinfectant foot baths are recommended on entry and exit.
This may seem a little daunting to private keepers with limited resources. If a separate facility is not available, an area as far as possible from the main collection is recommended.
The same guidelines used for an off-site facility should be adhered to. It is also advisable to have separate ventilation to minimise the risk of spreading airborne and aerosolised infectious diseases.
If other animals require attending to, this should be done prior to having anything to do with the quarantined animals. Proper precautions such as showering and changing clothes should also be considered.
The quarantine room should be kept as simple as possible. Use enclosures that are simple to clean and which have minimal fomites. A fomite is any object that can be contaminated and potentially aid in the spread of infection.
Similarly, furniture in the room should be kept to a minimum and floors and walls should also be easy to clean. Have a complete additional set of utensils for cleaning, feeding and medicating each individual.
Where possible, use items that are disposable (i.e. hides, feed bowls, water bowls). Non-porous materials such as those made from plastic are ideal as they are easier to clean and disinfect if they become soiled with faeces or urates.
A disinfectant that works on all manner of infectious organisms is recommended. The choice should be based on the efficacy, ease of use and safety profile.
F10 and other products are currently used in our practice due to the ability to disinfect against the majority of viruses, fungi, bacteria and some protozoa commonly encountered in reptile veterinary practices but not all treatments cover all infectious organisms it is best to discuss with your veterinarian.
It is important to thoroughly clean an area prior to using disinfectant, as organic material such as, faeces, urates and foodstuffs renders them ineffective. Regardless of the type of disinfectant used, read all labels carefully for safety and usage instructions to ensure it is applied properly, at the correct concentration and for the correct amount of time.
This is a question we are often asked and the answer for this can vary depending on the reason for quarantine. Some infectious diseases can go for long periods of time without showing clinical signs. For some conditions, such as mites, a quarantine period of 90 days will be sufficient to allow the keeper to observe for signs of infestation before introducing the reptile into the general population.
Unfortunately, there are some viruses that can take years to cause visible illness. For example, there are cases of Sunshine virus and Bornavirus in snakes and cases of agamid adenovirus in some lizards, where individuals have been testing positive for years without showing any signs of disease. This means that they can be spreading disease for prolonged periods without showing any effects. Therefore, it may be beneficial to have testing performed on certain individuals prior to them leaving a quarantine situation.
With this in mind, strict quarantine procedure should be adhered to for all individuals entering a collection, and consideration as to how this will be achieved should be made prior to acquiring any new animals. It is important for you the reptile keepers to stay up to date on the current recommended quarantine periods and discuss the infectious diseases that pose a threat to your animals with your reptile veterinarian.
To learn more about the importance of quarantining your reptile, get in touch!
Article written by Dr Joshua Llinas.
Very nice and informative service. Lovely vet practice, will definitely recommend to others.
Wonderful and knowledgable vet. Took time to thoroughly check over my rabbit and answer all the questions I had. Would recommend to other rabbit owners.
Highly recommend, caring and compassionate no matter how small your pet. Thank you to the unusual pet vets for treating our very sick little mouse Moon, she came back to full health and is now enjoying life in a new home with new cage mates.
Cannot speak highly enough of the caring and lovely staff at UPV Osborne Park. Particularly to Dr Kelly for the wonderful treatment and compassion she displayed caring for my much loved
Bugz. Definitely recommend this practice. Simply the Best.
It’s a great vet for exotic pets, we would like to thank Dr Kiara and the nurses for all the help they have done for the bunnies especially when they have been unwell.
Gretel – Thankyou for all the tips and advice on what and what not to do with the bunnies.
We will definitely be recommending to all our exotic animal friends.
Fantastic vets! Staff are so helpful and friendly. Vet’s are brilliant, they show so much love and compassion to our animals. 5 stars all the way!!
I just want to say a huge THANK YOU to the gang at Murdoch who helped my family and stimmy Cindy. It was a very stressful time and they assisted us with ease! Pricing was also more than reasonable which we were very grateful for. Thank you guys again, my noodle is now on the mend all to you guys.
Excellent service, caring and professional advice, and very good handling for our pet bird, on our first visit today at The Unusual Pet Vets, Jindalee. Very helpful, and they also provided further reading for us via email after our appointment regarding a few things we asked about. All staff were lovely and friendly – from the initial phone booking (you can do internet bookings too) to and including the consult. Thank you very much – we’ll definitely be back! Highly recommend.
Received the best service from Dr Sasha at the Sunshine Coast clinic. She taught me so much in such a kind manner and was very gentle to my Guinea pig. She then followed up by emailing further information on Guinea pig general care. Highly recommend!
Amazing and caring staff at the Ferntree Gully Clinic. Our baby rat was not well, and they always made time to help and support her. Very knowledgeable and compassionate. Would highly recommend and absolutely will use again. Thank you to everyone at Ferntree Gully for being there for us and Tabby.
