OPMV....know much about it?

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JungleRob

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Was talking to a guy in Brisbane about how long you should quarantine your new arrivals and we got onto the topic of OPMV, which I had never heard of, so looked it up on the net. Here's a link to a site you may find interesting, I certainly did.

http://www.smuggled.com/OPMV3F.htm
 
Just thought I would prewarn all that this link is a Ray Hoser Link........don't waste your time
 
Alot more people should learn about it , before its to late . Having spoke to our vet lately , its pretty much out of control ( about 12 caes in under 2 months ) because no-one wants to speak up . Having lost alot of snakes ( 10 ) when i first started , it is just increidble to watch it happen before you . It can be overcome by breaking the link that passes the virus . I am working with my vet , trying to write a paper on what happened . It has been a fair while now , so i know i'm clean , but it scares me now buying snakes of other people . This is something that must be discussed for the future of herps .
 
Here here rockman.

C Wazza, no matter what you may think of Ray he has a hell of a lot of knowledge and a lot of his stuff is well worth reading.
 
Same with Mark O'shea, 24 carat twit, but he knows his stuff !
Perhaps they are long lost brothers ? Is ray ginger ? :lol:

nasty that OPMV, can wipe out someones entire snake collection ! :(
 
I couldn't care less what some people think about Ray , i tihnk he's a stubbie short of a 6 pack , but then some people on site site think they know everything as well . The read on OPMV that he has is interesting showing how small a thing contaminated so many snakes . Dismay Ray if you like , but i bet half of the people haven't even read his site . Most people are just like sheep , one goes ba ba ba , then the rest go ba ba ba . As i said before most people don't want to hear nor read about OPMV. it's more interesting to look at some pic's of someones snake eating a rat . Coming from experience , this will be the thing that will give the herp world a big shake up . You won't be trying to buy pretty snakes , you will trying to find some-one that hasen't got OPMV , and they won't tell you because they still want to sell you the snake . It's like playing russian roulette , only your chances are alot ****ter ! Good luck to the people with their hand in the sand , you will need it .
 
Having read my last post , maybe i was a little harsh for some . Lets try and be a bit softer , before i get bagged for it . How many people have had a snake die ? Out of those people , how many spent maybe $300 -350 getting it tested for OPMV ( not worth it for a little $180 childerns or crappy costal is it ) ? Now out of those people that did get it tested , did the vet tell you that it was a resperiotry problem ? Pretty vague eh ! And out of those people , did that stop you selling any snakes in your collection , within the last 6 months . Hopefully everyone might sit up and take notice . No-one wants negative talk about their herps , but if you don't talk about it , you won't have any herps . Bet this topic only lasts about 1-2 days before we go back to looking a pic's of cages and snakes eating rats . :wink:
 
so what is opmv you have talked about it but havnt explained it and how do we prevent it
 
So can you talk us through it rockman?

I couldn't read hosers link - all the flashing pictures and colours made me nauseaus!
 
With so many knowledgable people on this site , ask them . Everyone has their own opinion about whats what ! All i know is what i learn't from experience and from the vet trying to help me . I brought 3 snakes off some-one , 1 had a slight respritory problem ( nothing to worry about , i was told ) , i quaratined them but i made a very small mistake in handling them , which cost me dearly . I could go to 95 % of the people of this sites , herp collection and show you within minutes of what is being done wrong , as to passing a virus like this . 99% of people hide the fact that they might have it , i suppose its like admitting you have aids , you think that you might get shunned by the other herp people .I was surprised when i spoke to someone very knowledgable from this site about it , that i wasn't shunned . I was 1 of the 99% , until i spoke up . I lost 10 animals ( $10 -15000 ) and spent about $ 5000 at the vet within the time i had the virus . Best way to learn quick is to hit the hip pocket . It turned me off herps for a while , just watching animals die until we worked out how to stop it . Iam back into herps now , my animals are now clean and i can guarentee that , not many people can say that with confidence . People really do need to talk , especially the new , younger people that are keen to buy a snake off anyone , these are the people that it will hurt and start with . Good luck
 
re OPMV

Yeh ive been through that process rockman the vets and tests with OPMV,scary stuff,thank god i havent lost anything for about a year now,test results from CSRIO at the time come back as bergendorfs salmonella,ive since worked out i was overheating animals in summer.Thanks for speaking up about it rockman it does a great service to everyone :)
 
You know Rockman I'm kind of surprised (pleasantly so) by how up front you're being about having had an outbreak. I've noticed a tendency among keepers in the past to keep things like OPMV, reovirus and even small things like mite outbreaks a secret. While I can certainly understand why people are reluctant to reveal these things (be honest with yourselves guys, people can be very judgemental when armed with even a few small facts), I do worry that witholding information about these things is detrimental to all concerned with keeping. Aside from the obvious concerns about spreading diseases amongst collections, it makes it hard for people who've not heard of the diseases before to educate themselves about them. You can only read so many dry scientific texts in one day ;) I personally would rather be able to speak directly to people who've had the experience before about what happens, how to handle it (if, god forbid, it should ever occur to me) and what NOT to do. Especially since I live a good couple of hours drive away from vets who care for reptiles. I do understand the need for people to maintain their privacy, but surely there must be some happy medium?

I agree with you Rockman, people DO need to talk....but will they? And where do you draw the line, how do you balance helping people learn about this without compromising too much of your privacy? Obviously this is all my opinion, and as such probably doesn't count for much ;) But it does bear thinking about. How often do people talk about the need to educate yourself when you're starting out....how do people do that if there's a general unwillingness to talk about these things? Put yourselves in the shoes of both the people who want to protect their privacy and the people starting out who need all the information they can get. Or dismiss me as a raving fruitcake ;)

Cheers, Kersten.
 
Everyone , just humour me for a second , how many people can honestly stand up and say that have lost at least 1 snake and never got it tested for anything ? This should prove a point .
 
Kersten , people won't talk about it . As for protecting their privacy , it was law not that long ago that if your vet found that you had OPMV , you were reported to the authoritys . That does not exsist anymore . The people that know they have and are still selling their animals , " we all love our animals and we are not in it for the money " , what a load of crap . Stand up and be counted . I have put myself in their shoes and i stood up and done the right thing . Im not known at all in the herp peoiple , but the few that do know me , i told . I suppose thats why there are 2 different kind of people .
 
cwarren72 said:
Just thought I would prewarn all that this link is a Ray Hoser Link........don't waste your time

:roll: :roll: :roll: :roll: :roll: :roll: :roll: :roll: :roll: :roll: :roll:

A very interesting and IMPORTANT read for all herpers.
 
I know they wont Rockman, I'm just an eternal optimist :roll:
 
rockman, i cant read the link either could you please tell me what OPMV is as i have never heard of it, you say we should all know what it is but when asked in a previous reply you told the person to ask someone else, you seem to have the knowledge on this so please share it.
cheers
lisa and al
 
Im not having a go at you tweety2 , but including myself , when i first got into snakes , i didn't know either . We all should be made aware of the problems even before we buy our first snake , even that would help slow the spread of the diease .Look up on google
 
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