Urgent Need Help!!

[Sunny]

To test the tissue sample would be very difficult as it would be a long flight to get to a pathologist and thats if the vet hasn't desposed of the snake yet. I have two other python and from what you suggest i hope your wrong! (sorry) I haven't cross contaminated, but to be on the safe side i am going to through out all the viv furniture and sterilise the viv real good. I god dam hope the other pythons don't get that OPMV if your right.

 

[ALLANA]

I really do feel for you sunny. And I really hope I'm wrong more so than right but I really don't like all them symptoms. If there is any way at all to get the snake tested I would if you have others, maybe talk to your vet first thing tomorow to see what chances you have of having it done. If it's a glass tank it's a bit easier to clean, if it were melamine enclosure or pine I would just be throughing it out there door if it were me. I'll keep my fingers crossed for you, I"ve seen so many people who love there reps loose them from OPMV and it's terrible so I really hope you don't have to go through it and it is just something else for your sake. I'm off to bed now but let us know how you go if you do get the snake tested.

 

[Jason2]

Wow, this has been a long post for such a short time with lots of people GUESSING as to the problem.
I have my own GUESS but that's all it is so I won't air it.
I GUESS that some of the symptoms could be attributed to OPVM and then again many other thing could cause similar signs and symptoms.

To clarify, an autopsy WILL NOT, repeat WILL NOT in most cases give a cause of death.
An autopsy might show death from cancer, severe R.I. and some other thing, but when the is nothing obvious, tissue samples MUST be sent to a pathology lab for testing.
This is THE ONLY WAY to isolate things such as viruses, other than doing that it's only educated guessing by a reptile vet.

Now given your distance from Sydney or Adelaide I'm not sure if tissue testing is an option so take care with your diamonds.

With regards to the green staining in the poo... I see that most winters with my bhp. A few years ago I started asking questions. The most consistent answers came from a reptile vet and a vet school.
I only see it during winter when the bhp's aren't feeding and to survive the 3 or 5 months they don't eat they have to live off their fat and tissue reserves.
To metabolize these reserves they produce more bile (green) and what come out is just excess bile.

Sorta makes sense as I never see it during summer.

 

[salebrosus]

Wow, this has been a long post for such a short time with lots of people GUESSING as to the problem.
I have my own GUESS but that's all it is so I won't air it.
I GUESS that some of the symptoms could be attributed to OPVM and then again many other thing could cause similar signs and symptoms.

To clarify, an autopsy WILL NOT, repeat WILL NOT in most cases give a cause of death.
An autopsy might show death from cancer, severe R.I. and some other thing, but when the is nothing obvious, tissue samples MUST be sent to a pathology lab for testing.
This is THE ONLY WAY to isolate things such as viruses, other than doing that it's only educated guessing by a reptile vet.

Now given your distance from Sydney or Adelaide I'm not sure if tissue testing is an option so take care with your diamonds.

With regards to the green staining in the poo... I see that most winters with my bhp. A few years ago I started asking questions. The most consistent answers came from a reptile vet and a vet school.
I only see it during winter when the bhp's aren't feeding and to survive the 3 or 5 months they don't eat they have to live off their fat and tissue reserves.
To metabolize these reserves they produce more bile (green) and what come out is just excess bile.

Sorta makes sense as I never see it during summer.

Exactly Jason2...........when i lost an animal 18 months ago, i paid $50 for an autopsy with Terri Bellamy. It was determined lympahtic sarcoma/leukaemia was the cause of death. Tissue samples were sent away to make sure it wasn't any of the two nasty viruses going around, and when results returned it was shown that the snake did not have the virus and died from cancer.

I'm surprised the vet did not do this.

 

[GSXR_Boy]

Have you or the previous owner sprayed mite spray recently?
we had a diamond with similar symptons (dioreha (sp?), lethargic,dehydrated, listless and also with green stuff coming out of his **** (can be a sign of liver damage).
we had recently sprayed the enclosure with a pet shop brand mite spray and the autopsy results given told us this is what killed him

Good luck with your results.
Ps. I think alot of vets get lazy or misdiagnos and just put it down to Opmv/ibd. be well worth getting the autopsy (although i don't think there is a test for opmv in Australia?)

 

[Sunny]

I haven't sprayed any mite or other spray in or near the viv at all.
I won't be getting to snakes tissues tested as the vet has disposed of it. I guess i will probably never know, but i will be keeping a close eye on the others.