caberke1
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RI & Mixed Species - 2003/01/06 00:49
I've been harping on other people lately to question their assumptions, and so I've decided to do some of that myself. There are a few things that I've simply taken for granted as "this is the way it is, it can be no other way" for years. So I thought I would pick the brains of everyone here to try to find the basis of these assumptions. (and it's much easier than doing all the research myself!)
So here they are:
"Cold temperatures cause respiratory infections in reptiles."
I know many of us had mothers who told us not to go outside with wet hair, or without a coat or whatever, because we would catch a cold. Most of us (I hope) now realize that it's not the
*cold* that was the problem. It's the bacteria and viruses. So where are solitary captive snakes getting exposed to bacteria and viruses that make them sick when their immunity is lowered by cold temps? Where are these darned things surviving? In the snake, and just not taking over until the snakes immunity is lowered? If that's the case, since Amikcin and Baytril treat an RI once it's in full swing, shouldn't we be able to shot-gun treat with those before the animal gets sick and keep it from ever getting an RI? But we all know this doesn't work. What's the deal? Where are these RIs coming from?
"Never keep species from different regions of the world together.
They have different gut flora and fauna that may be mutually harmful."
Is there really any hard evidence of this? I don't mean anecdotal tales of putting two critters together and one dies. I mean cold, hard, scientific facts. I wonder if this statement used to be more true in the past before we were all treating our herps for parasites regularly and when most animals were still wild caught. Does a 14th generation leopard gecko really have gut flora and fauna native to Pakistan still? Does treatment with a broad range of drugs upon importation or purchase of a new pet eliminate any of the problem? Was the threat real in the first place, or was it a theory that knowledgeable herpers tossed out to keep newbie herpers from keeping mixed-species (which presents a host of "real" problems anyway without this parasite thing), and we've all just heard it so many times that it has become part of the collective consciousness and therefore *must* be true, like Walt Disney being frozen?
Ok. I'm rambling. I'll stop for now.
Please keep in mind that I'm *not* saying the assumptions are wrong.
In fact, the first one I'm positive is right, I just question the mechanics. The second one is something that I myself have said repeatedly for years, but now begin to wonder how true it is. It would be cool if someone could come in and shut me up with some facts that I was an idiot not to have known. Otherwise, it might make for some good conversation. And I have a test next week to not study for..
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