Advice about petshop and possible OMPV case....

[foxysnake]

Just thought Id ask for advice, a mate of mine bought his first snake - a lil maccie hatchie from a local petshop. Snake was feeding well, and settled in well. 3 months later stopped feeding, falling backwards, can't get balance, extremely inactive and limp. (Always kept adequately on heat too, Id like to add with no signs of scale rot, canker, or any cold/watery nostils) He has put this animal in one of the best vets up here (which is where it is at the moment). Anyhow, my question basiclly is - if this animal does in fact have OMPV or a virus, how would be the best way to approach the petshop?

The little advice that I could think of (I was literally blown away - I mean, this snake has NEVER had anyone but its owner anywhere near it, and it certainly has had NO contact with any other snakes whilst in his care, and his cage/lighting etc came NEW from the petshop - to me all I could think of is if this is OMPV or virus it must have come from either the petshop or their supplier), so what I did tell him were the ramifications bascilly, that if the vet believes his snake does have either, it will have to be put down, his cage etc will have to be destroyed completely and he pretty much wouldnt be able to have another snake for quite awhile.

I believe this case could truelly be scary, here is everyone making lists of who not to buy from and condeming whoever, if this case does end up being OMPV or a virus, than obviously the concern meter extensively rises as all the local petshops here do not breed snakes but buy them from down south. I for one am extremely concerned where the future lies in keeping snakes. I feel rather panicky.

As I said, advice would be greatly appreciated, I feel rather out of depth to say the least, another thing I told my mate is that photocopy any reports from the vet and take them to the petshop.

(ALSO, do not bother PMing me asking for petshop details etc, as I said the snake is in at the vets and nothing is known as fact as of yet.) Im simply asking for advice.

Oh lastly, what other things could this snake possibly have if not OMPV or virus?

 

[foxysnake]

Surely someone can offer some advice??

 

[ravan]

if it is confirmation that it is opmv, i would be taking the results down to the pet store and discussing it with them.
They'd have to (well not have to, but should) notify the person that they bought it from, and quarantine their collection.
You could also notify epa.

 

[coz666]

i wouldnt go stamping the cause yet.

 

[Twin_Rivers]

3 months since purchase with no signs of illness??? obviously the owner would not of done anything wrong, no one ever makes mistakes with their first snake. BLAME THE PET SHOP, we all know they are evil. No proof, not even sure what is wrong with the animal, Damn pet shop must of sold a sick snake, even worse they made appear healthy and stay that way for nearly three months then get sick, the sick evil bastrds.

 

[ravan]

3 months since purchase with no signs of illness??? obviously the owner would not of done anything wrong, no one ever makes mistakes with their first snake. BLAME THE PET SHOP, we all know they are evil. No proof, not even sure what is wrong with the animal, Damn pet shop must of sold a sick snake, even worse they made appear healthy and stay that way for nearly three months then get sick, the sick evil bastrds.

excuse me, but opmv can lay dorment in animals for quite a while thus why it says to quarantine for at least a year.
the first pythons my partner bought, showed now signs for about a month. then within a period of 2 days one of them deteriorated enough to die.

so dont go spouting off that it couldnt be opmv. it very well could be.
its at the vet now, so only time will tell.

 

[Chris1]

good luck, i think you'll have a battle on ur hands,....

heres hoping ur little snakey is actually ok.

not really any need fro sarcasm twin rivers, we all know OPMV lays dormant for up to 18 months (maybe longer, who knows), just like we all know that petshops wouldnt be destroying cages between batches of hatchies so its an awesome way fro such a terrible disease to spread.

god knows why NSW wants to sell snakes in petshops too, its gonna be imposasible to contain teh disease when they do.

anyway, best of luck, i dont think Australia has a test that can confirm it 100%, and the test they do have cant be done on a live animal, which makes me think tehy will deny everything.

 

[Twin_Rivers]

I never said it wasn't OPMV however there is no proof that it is, so before you all start out for blood from pet shops why not wait and see what the vet says is the cause

 

[funcouple]

If you have taken it to a vet what has the vet said is or wrong with it. It is very hard to comfirm OPMV as it can only be successfully diagnosed in the US at the moment. Untill the vet has given a reason for the illness dont jump on that wagon just yet.

 

[Kris]

That doesn't sound good. Hope the vet finds out what is wrong with the little bloke.

 

[Kyro]

I can remember reading that poisoning can show similar symptoms & can occur from cleaning products, mite sprays ect, if used incorrectly.

 

[AUSGECKO]

3 months since purchase with no signs of illness??? obviously the owner would not of done anything wrong, no one ever makes mistakes with their first snake. BLAME THE PET SHOP, we all know they are evil. No proof, not even sure what is wrong with the animal, Damn pet shop must of sold a sick snake, even worse they made appear healthy and stay that way for nearly three months then get sick, the sick evil bastrds.

LOL:lol:

I never said it wasn't OPMV however there is no proof that it is, so before you all start out for blood from pet shops why not wait and see what the vet says is the cause

How about you find out what is wrong with the animal before throwing the "O" word around and critisising pet shops.

 

[shamous1]

Vet

I think if it does become a confirmed case of OPMV then someone has a moral obligation to inform the pet shop and a moral obligation to inform as many people as possible and if that means posting hear on APS then so be it.

A lot of people are unaware of diseases that can hit pythons and go out and buy their first snake and are totally in the dark. You just might save someone a load of heartache by communicating further down the track.

 

[foxysnake]

Sorry I just cant ignore the msgs posted by twin rivers, what exactly do you mean?

By the sounds of what you typed IMO maybe I have misunderstood, but please list some reason that whatever this snake has, has been a fault of the owners? Im rather interested to hear.

After 3 days of syptoms, the snake has died and has been sent away for an autopsy. My mate is crushed, this being his first snake to say the least.

Id like to add that this thread was not started to dis any particular petshop or petshops in particular, I believe I have taken the effort to make sure this was not contrived that way as well.

And thanks for the advice from the ppl that have given it. another question is, because if this does end up being something viral or OMPV, - should the incident be discussed with parks and wildlife? - Why Im thinking that, I guess, is only because it is a professional establishment, and would parks and wildlife have the power to step in and make sure that other ppl who have bought snakes there etc are notified and as well as whoever the petshops supplier? As I said in my mind, as a kind of quaratine measure?

Any thoughts?