its definitely worth the necropsy, especially since all of your snakes have been exposed to her. I'd euthanize asap and get the necropsy done. I know that sounds cold, but you have all those other snakes to think about now possibly being infected too.

So you think I should get both the euthanasia and necropsy done at the vet? Is there another way I can euthanize to cut my costs?

We all make mistakes. It sucks but try not to beat yourself up too much. It's out there and it happens.

I have no experience with IBD but have seen the effects in other peoples collections. I just want to say I'm sorry you are having to experience this.

I agree, get the necropsy done, talk to your vet and see if you can be referred to a teaching hospital for a lower cost.  My vet does free gross necropsies and then if I want any tests done the cost are just added on top of that, but I have a friend that's not a reptile vet, but she referred me to John Hopkins and they have a vet school that needs bodies to teach and they test everything for $120, takes about 30 days, but for that price it's worth it.

I hope that somehow it's something else other than IBD, but have you contacted the seller, especially with the temperment issue as well?

Have you heard anything or spoken with the breeder/seller?

As far as your question goes for euthanizing........stick her in the freezer? I don't know how that would affect the necropsy though.

I did have a correspondence with the seller. He told me he had the animal in quarentine when he sold her to me (it hadn't entered his collection), and that she seemed fine and healthy to him. If that's all true, then I guess the disease must have been dormant and showed up after the stress of shipping. I do not know where the animal originated. 

Freezing is not a humane way to go. Freezing also damages and changes cells, making necropsies much more difficult on a cellular level.  Contact vets in your area and especially do contact the U of M for information regarding euthanasia and necropsies. Let the vets know you're not financially secure but want the best for your animal... call around and get a bunch of quotes, and compare.

Freezing is inhumane that is for sure. The quickest way is to destroy the brain so your 20 gauge is probably the quickest way. But I've never had a necro done and don't know how much of the animal they may want "intact" so to speak. And with a snakes slow metabolic rate any chemical euthanasia isn't going to be quick either.

Like I said I've never had to put a herp down so I'll learn from this also. Wish you and the rest of your collection the best.

Not trying to be cruel, but if you are that sure it's IBD, why is that snake still in your house?  Sounds like you are just playing with fire imo.

the best way is to sever the head   with an axe but the head can stay alive for a while  it's creepy  the sooner you get the snake to the vet to take samples the better  i would  either  do it rite before going to the vet  or have the vet do it  .. You owe it to the rest of your collection to know for sure ...

A snake's brain will remain active for quite some time without oxygen even when completely severed from the body. So Unless the brain is destroyed to render the snake truly dead, without thought or feeling, simply beheading the snake may possible be one of the cruelest methods to go with as they will be aware for quite a while. whenever I have had to put something out, be it a snake gravely injured on the road or a baby that was in no way shape or form going to make it, I have done it by a brick placed above the snake's head and hit the brick with a large mallet. It's not pretty, but it's definitely sudden and the brain is instantly destroyed.

Good luck........ I would not want to be in your shoes right now. :(

For your own peace of mind - which you often can't put a price tag on that - get a necropsy done... A;.s far as euthanizing the animal, I think the vet is your best choice, and I know you live in the very northern part of MN, right? Not sure where you may be able to get a necropsy done, but if the animal needs to be shipped out to a place that can do it, or perhaps no matter, the body may need to be preserved in whatever fluid they use in order to preserve the integrity of the sample. I believe it can be found in other areas of the body than just the brain... maybe depends on how advanced it is??

Are you sure it's not dehydration or something else? Do you know if it ever got overheated or had exposure to any chemicals that could have resulted in neuro issues? 

they need brain tissue  for the pathology  when i had to behead my snake i smahed its head with the butt of the axe   right after but I didnt need a necropsy

I would not recommend euthanizing at home. Not only do you run the risk of destroying invaluable tissue but since no one truly completely knows how IBD is spread, you also run the risk of releasing harmful tissues into your home environment. The will definitely need the brain and likely the liver to test for IBD. How much does your DVM charge for euthanasia? Mine only charges $35. And he doesn't like me that much. Either way, I highly HIGHLY recommend having a DVM do this. Whatever you do, do not freeze the snake!! That will destroy necessary tissues for testing. Like others have said, call around to get quotes and contact teaching schools. Good luck.

There are a ton of things that look like IBD but aren't. I had an IBD scare, stargazing, wobbly, off food,... My vet thought it was IBD so we killed the animal, shipped it off, and it came back with Systemic Salmonella. We might have been able to save the animal with baytril, the salmonella was susceptible to that. Until you have proof, you don't have proof.

I'm going to move this to Answers, thank you very much for sharing with us. I'm so sorry you're dipping your toe in the IBD pool. I hope it's something else.

As Aaron stated, there are things that can have symptoms that are similar to those of IBD, and these days it seems to to be IBD is what people jump to very quickly... again, for your own peace of mind... find out for certain... 

If you do go with the doing CO2 at home, do not freeze the body after, keep it refrigerated until you can get it to the vet... hopefully in not too many days.

a necropsy is considerably more expensive than paying for a shot to euthanize her humanely.  

possible if you contact your local herp vet, they may be involved in a study and can do it for you cheap; a few years ago here, one of our local vets were taking in boas FOC with probable IBD, euthanizing, and sending them to Dr Elliot Jacobson at the University of Florida for necropsy studies on IBD. not sure if that's still ongoing, but your vet may know of another option.

aside from peace of mind, to be a responsible breeder you NEED to know the source of her illness :(

So sorry you're having to go through this.  However, I agree with what Aaron and Sonja have said - that it could be something else causing those symptoms.  I too had a boa with a serious lack of coordination, not eating, and was freaking out about the possibility of IBD.  But my vet and I decided to try a couple of different drugs first - and he got better.  I was very afraid of having to euthanize my whole collection (I'd had the boa for years at that point, he was an established part of my collection).  I'm SO glad I didn't wind up losing any of my animals. 

As far as euthanizing, I would let the vet do it.  It likely wouldn't cost hardly anything more than the cost of the necropsy and path report (you NEED the path report).  I don't know of any way to euthanize the snake at home humanely without destroying the brain, which I'm sure they would want to test.

Ideally you'd take the live snake to the vet, and get a diagnosis and go from there.  But if you're set on euthanizing the animal, I don't think you can get around at the very least a necropsy and pathology report.  Maybe if the snake had stayed in quarantine - and if your quarantine is extremely rigerous - you could just get away with the one animal being taken out of the collection.  But as you admitted, there's been too much contact with your other animals.  If you just assume that it is IBD, and don't do a necropsy or a path report, the only responsible thing you could do is to euthanize ALL of your animals.  And nobody wants that.

I think Aaron's advice rings poignantly true: until you have proof, you don't have proof!

I am so so sorry you're facing this scare.  There are a few very very spooky diseases other than IBD that you should look into as well, such as paramyxovirus.  I definitely agree with taking the live snake to the vet for the best available testing, and if necessary, the best possible euthanasia (and I sincerely HOPE that is not needed!).

Here is an earlier question asking for resources on IBD.

Best of luck!!

really sorry you're going through this because I had an IBD scare about 2 years ago as well*. Get your boa euthanized and sent off for pathology testing, it's the only way to be sure plus you will then know what to do with the rest of your collection. Doing anything to euthanize the snake yourself, especially doing anything to the head, is not a good idea. The brain is one of the tissues that needs to be tested. *I got lucky in the sole fact that it wasn't IBD in my case but rather a brain parasite that caused the issues, it flared up after she became severly dehydrated (my fault) but it was very sad and heartwrenching but nothing will ever replace the peace of mind in knowing it was NOT ibd in my case. I hope the same for yours. I think I ended up spending arounf $400 for the euthanazia/necropsy/pathalogy report. It might have been $600 total but we had tried a bunch of treatments before finally putting her down.

Good luck

IMHO, the most humane method to euthanize a reptile while preserving for necropsy is a CO2 fire extinguisher. The freezing is near instant, and the preserves the body for transport. If you search around, a suitable extinguisher can be purchased for a very reasonable price. Refilling/recharging is economical, so look for units that can be refilled/recharged. Good luck, and happy herping to all. :)

You don't want to freeze a body before having a necropsy done - simply refrigerate it.  The ice crystals damage cells, making pathology difficult to impossible.

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