Tobie, first off, I’m exceptionally sorry about your loss. This is only the beginning, and yes, I understand where you are coming from. I’ve had a run in with a snake that looked like IBD, and when my mind wrapped around that, I was devastated. However, I ended up rationalizing away that if I got IBD (well, my snakes) I would do my damndest to turn it into something positive. You can do the same.
IBD is one of the scariest diseases … really no known cause, definitely no cure, and expensive to do liver biopsies, especially when they are not 100%. However, all is not lost.
It really depends what you are doing with your collection. If you are building up breeding stock, then getting something like IBD can put a quick end to that. You effectively have to start over.
However, if you have the time, and the patience … that’s another story.
When I had an animal that was stargazing, I absolutely freaked out. I keep a pretty “closed” collection anymore, few animals come in or go out for months at a time. They get quarantined within reason (not separate buildings or anything, but separate utensils, isolated, blah blah blah)… So the timing for me to have something like IBD was all wrong. But, the symptom was there (and snakes can only exhibit so many “sick” symptoms, so other things look like other things).
Basically, I only have chondros. And I breed them, and sell them (occasionally) and that’s all well and good, but it’s not my “business.” So if I were to get IBD, a lot of people would just say, “oh well, you’ll have to start over” and then euthanize the collection.
To me, that simply wouldn’t be an option.
I figure, there are two ways to turn all of this into a positive:
1.) Work with a lab, donate the animals, and try to get some positive research to come out of the unfortunate loss
2.) Document everything as precisely as possible, and hang onto the collection as long as possible.
If #1 were to be an option (like, finding someone who would do it), I’d probably go that route. But assuming I couldn’t find anyone, for me, the breeding and selling isn’t as important as the animals themselves. With such little known about this disease, I would have a hard time “carte-blanche” wiping everything out, even animals that are fine, based upon the paucity of information we have about IBD.
I would have no problem shutting down my collection as it is for two years, five years, whatever, and potentially wait for a test that is 100% accurate, a cure to the disease, or whatever is coming down the road. To me, that is a much more viable alternative than starting over.
Do everything you can to get all of your animals in your collection on iHerp, and track the hell out of them. That is a start, and make sure to put comments in. There are very few people who will actually talk about IBD, because of the nature of it. It’s a big mystical killer, and I think some people are afraid they will be *unshun* Shunned *reshun* if they say anything…
Information is huge with this disease. Since you’ve gotten a positive diagnosis, you can be a GREAT help to the community by documenting this with accurate timelines, symptoms, etc. Keep everything clean as you can, and maybe you can dodge anyone else contracting it, but a case study like this has not been done here, and with the tracking information available, well … I think despite how hard this is, you really can make something good come out of this. A lot is perspective, if you feel like turning this into something beneficial for the hobby and business of reptiles, start talking to vets, labs, send them iHerp tracking links, and you might be able to be pivotal in gathering information that is sorely needed about this disease.
Best of luck to you, THANK YOU so much for sharing this… and let me know if I can help in any way.