Reptile Expos And The Spread Of Diseases

JC

Arachnolort
Old Timer
Joined
Apr 15, 2009
Messages
1,421
How prone are reptiles to catching/transmitting diseases at reptile expositions? I know to always quarantine new arrivals and keep them away from the rest of my collection, something that isn't possible to do at the exposition where dozens of dealers and breeders set up their tables just feet away from each other for hours and hours. So how risky are reptile expositions for reptile dealers?
 

Toirtis

Arachnobaron
Joined
May 14, 2010
Messages
316
It really depends on the expo. Some do an excellent job of ensuring the quality of their dealers, and inspecting animals before the show opens...this does a lot to make sure that vendors ensure that all their stock is very healthy. Apart from that, quarantine is your best friend.
 

dtknow

Arachnoking
Old Timer
Joined
Aug 18, 2004
Messages
2,239
It seems like a real possibility of transmission of certain diseases/parasites(mites in particular). Keep in mind most shows people are handling animals and moving from on table to the next(granted most shows have lots of hand sanitizer around). Recently at the NARBC Anaheim show one vendor was allowing kids to play with rats...who then came over to a table and were about to handle some big snakes! :embarrassed:
 

pitbulllady

Arachnoking
Old Timer
Joined
May 1, 2004
Messages
2,290
At the Repticon shows, hand sanitizers are a requirement for every vendor table, and most vendors also have paper towels(pretty much a "must-have" around ANY animals). I have seen adults do stupid things like handle a rabbit and then pick up a Burmese Python, but this was after being warned by the vendor not to do that, and refusing to listen. At the last show I went to I did see one Boa, which had just been taken in a trade, with mites, but at least on most snakes it's pretty easy to eliminate those, as long as they aren't Natricine snakes. I guess the risks of parasite/disease transmission would be about the same, maybe not as bad, as at an AKC dog show. I used to show in AKC and it was pretty common for my dogs to get sick after a show.

pitbulllady
 

H. laoticus

Arachnoprince
Old Timer
Joined
Mar 11, 2009
Messages
1,017
It seems like a real possibility of transmission of certain diseases/parasites(mites in particular). Keep in mind most shows people are handling animals and moving from on table to the next(granted most shows have lots of hand sanitizer around). Recently at the NARBC Anaheim show one vendor was allowing kids to play with rats...who then came over to a table and were about to handle some big snakes! :embarrassed:
I should've gone to this one...oh well.
 
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