Adeno virus.. I am so angry!

[Monkey]

So I took Herculette and Monty to the reptile rally in Petco yesterday as I did last year...

I really do enjoy helping educating the kids about them, as well as Herculette loves being manhandled

Monty got scared, I don't know if the last turn in the petstore before Samantha picked him up did a number on him, its the first time ever Ive seen him spooked.. So I tucked him back in the pillow case and in my bag and he was perfectly content there *lol*

Either way a woman comes in with a drop dead gorgeous beardie girl.. I pet her a little on the back, they pet Herculette under the chin.. we are talking and they tell me they breed her themselves.. Oki wow.. I asked how many they had now.. they told me everyone died.....

Out of a parvo virus...... and this one had it too she was just not displaying it yet.....

When I came home I read up about it and..... God I wanna curse and cry...

the parvo virus is actually the adeno virus, they don't even fully know how it's contagious yet despite they suspect fecal/oral contact and droplets like snot, mucus etc... BUT that is not a 100% yet according to wikipedia and a few other sites.... So now I am worried and I am angry..

Who the bleeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeep brings out a virus carrier IN public to a store where there will be a ton of other beardies and then TOUCH them or let people touch!!!!!!!!

Keep fingers crossed guys... since there's not much I can do I will sit and wait till I have got settled in, after that I am going to have them tested wit the PCM or PCR test what it's called..

Thank god I only have two beardies, and not breed... If I loose these two I will be angry up to HERE, and Mike knows here so I can find the woman... if mine has it... oh... there will be hell to pay...

If anyone knows anything about this virus please let me know...

I am hoping that the woman is right that I have nothing to worry about.. but from what I read that is not the case....

I am so sad right now

No more reptile rallies for me.. Im keeping mine at home from now on!

 

[ziggy23]

That is just

PM Tracie (drache613), she actually is involved in research in this.

 

[Monkey]

Thank you!! I will...

Im sitting here kicking my own behind... Why did I bring them.. I honestly had no clue that there was something like the adeno virus.. one reason I have always loved beardies was that they were so healthy.. as long as you don't mess up food or their habitat chances of them getting sick is slim to none..

when I bring them to the reptile rally Ive always made sure the kids holds mine before the petstore beardies and I looked last year as well as this year to make sure that no mites were pestering any of the animals etc... My Petco is actually very good as far as petstores go to actually take proper care of their animals... They move too big bullying beardie babies to separate enclosures to not hurt the others, they only order in so many, to avoid having too much stress issues with them, same thing with the iggys, torts etc.. I have to give them praise for that.. Hence I wasnt too worried to bring mine.. and she brings a viral carrier...

Herculette is a very special beardie to me.. She LOVES attention, she was a tad dark when i brought her in, it was chilly, I put her a little under the heat lamp, she was still dark, first groups of kids comes and had her climbing around on them, holding her, groping her, poking, and she goes bright yellow... Once she gets to sit on my shoulder again, she goes dark, next group of kids, bright yellow again.. she loves it.. they had a profesional photographer there.. so I had her portrait taken, and one with my dog.. I got the big pictures and Im gonna frame them.. I've never meet such a tame and snuggly beardie as her.. Never scared of ANYTHING basically.. and now this...

I am so angry at myself...

 

[ziggy23]

Don't be angry at yourself, it's not your fault. That woman shouldn't have brought an animal with a contagious disease to a rally! That's just crazy.

I remembered something, I read once adeno has an incubation period of 2 weeks, and here's a few links I had saved about adeno

http://www.reptileboards.com/threads/symptoms-of-the-adenovirus.61/
http://www.eaza.net/activities/tdfactsheets/002%20Adenovirus%20Infection%20In%20Reptiles.doc.pdf

 

[Monkey]

Thank you...

As soon as I get settled into my new place I am going to look what the cost is of having them tested.. and I will test both.. Granted mine are only pets but I wanna know what Im dealing with or if they are clean...

I will never understand irresponsible people... *sighs*

 

[Jamiedog]

Wow.

People like that are the reason why these viruses become endemic in pet populations. Breeding sick animals and letting sick animals pass things on to healthy ones by not quarantining properly. (Heck, a lot of these viruses can jump species... For all she knows, she just gave adenovirus to a bunch of kids who decided to go to Petco yesterday! There are strains that can infect humans... I know that from an interest in human virology, but don't know if it's the same type that affects reptiles.)

Hope your little ones (both of them) are okay. I've never posted in the ER section before, because I never feel like I have anything to add, but this particular post got my blood pressure up.

 

[maverickgtr]

I went to the reptile rally at my local Petco with Isis this weekend too! The closest Petco to us though doesn't have a reptile section so no one else had any beardies. I was hesitant to take her in case of a situation just like this. Though I was thinking more like mites, and bacteria. Adeno virus never even crossed my mind! Hopefully your beardie will be ok. And like the other posters said, you can't blame yourself. It's that dumb lady's fault for exposing your beardies to a terrible virus. I think this is a site Tracie is part of, I think it was her sig that I clicked the link and started reading. Hopefully this gives you good news!

 

[Monkey]

thank you guys...

I have Pm tracie and hopefully she can answer me soon..

Testing don't really matter since I only have two pet beardies so it won't be number 1 on my list, if they get sick I know and there's nothing I can do either way... Right now I am treating them both as if they are quarantined.. If one got it and the other didn't cause he was in my bag, then Ill make sure it stays that way... Once I get settled into my new place and got the cage ready for my sav (he's about to outgrow his tank and needs his adult house which will cost a pretty penny) I will test Herculette and Monty.. if either is positive Ill keep going as I do now... and let them live their lives out..

It will stop me from getting any other beardie till they have past... No use taking that risk...

This can not hit humans through from what I understood... But there's different ones for example boids (which will soon come home to me so thank god that is not a cross specie strain), geckos etc from what I did understand... and I have them all savannahs has it too... or can have...

So if one strain had hit ALL of these, I would have sued that woman's behind off.. if my beardies has it, I am contemplating contacting her and make sure she pays for testing and then some... I dont think her vet explained how serious it actually is... *grrrrrr*

Im still pissed about it... So far they seem normal thank god...

The next three weeks will be hard on me..

 

[Drache613]

Hello,

Sorry for the delay.
Are you sure that the virus was Adeno? The Parvo virus is not Adeno, but can be present as a "Helper" virus in the presence of Adeno.
Had she gotten a test done on the dragons, so she knew what virus they had?
The route of transmission is fecal to oral so if no bodily fluids or feces was exchanged or handled, your dragon should be fine.
If you would like to test your dragons, just let me know. It is only $15 per test, too which is very affordable.

I think they will be alright, but it might be good to test them sometime. That way you know what you are up against, if they do get ill.
Try not to worry, I think they will be fine.


Tracie

 

[Monkey]

She said parvo, but it wiped out her whole collection but one... and she had 30 of them.. and when I looked for parvo in beardies the only thing that came up was adeno I couldn't find anything about parvo itself in beardies anywhere...

15 dollars? that is cheap.. how can it be that cheap?

The only thing that happened was what I described, I petted her girl on the back and they petted mine on the chin..
I am glad you think mine are safe, it is a load off my shoulders, Im still feeling nervous but at least feeling more on the upside about it..

I really appreciate you taking your time to answer..

How would I go on to do the test?

 

[Drache613]

Hello,

Parvo is not terribly common among reptiles, but it can occur.
Yes, the test is only $15. It is not a blood test, but an "environmental" test. You can swab the environment easily if you only have one housed in a tank. Usually I recommend swabbing directly on the feces, itself. It is very easy to do & not invasive & can be done at home.
It is the PCR test, too.
If you would like to test, just PM me your address, & I will send you two swabs for testing, and the website so you can read about the test, etc.


Tracie

 

[BadCon]

Having just got back from a rally, this type of thing has me nervous. One good habit to get into is bringing along a small bottle of hand sanitizer...while some people may be put off by it, having owners of other reptiles clean their hands before handling yours is a good idea. Honestly though, I'm uncertain if hand sanitizer would even make a dent in something as pernicious as adeno...but it couldn't hurt. A quick scratch on the chin however is unlikely to cause any serious issue...so I wouldn't be too stressed. It is deplorable that an owner of an animal with an infectious disease would bring it to a public rally...ESPECIALLY if their entire collection had been wiped out by this disease. That is assuming they even really knew what killed their animals...

One thing you could do is bring along some chlorhexidine...properly diluted it can be used as an antiseptic wipe...so if necessary you could swab your animal after they are petted by someone you deem suspicious. Just keep it out of the mucous membranes. In studies its been shown to be more effective then Iodine as a wound wash, and it won't stain skin (or other materials). To my knowledge however, it won't kill Adeno...so why I even mentioned it, I don't know :roll:

 

[fairytaildragons]

OMGosh!!! That infuriates me!!!! I can't believe someone would do that!!! We actually......... unfortunately I do... I have seen many indivduals that bring their dragons to the various shows. While I think it is a great thing to see a dragon come by and wave hello I get scared to death and am very paranoid and sadened about some of the dragons I see. I have seen more than my fair share of yellow fungus and only who knows what else walking around. I am VERY carefull about anyone handling one of my kids and how they handle them. I ask lots of questions but explain why. I have said NO more than once and I hate being that way!!! There is just too much out there now and too many people that just don't think, don't know, or don't care. A lot of bins and show cases at the shows are open and it scares me to death. Mine are closed!!! I ask my clients to bring pics of my kids instead of the dragon/dragons now days if they contact me before a show. I just don't want them walking around with one of my kids and have something like this happen!!! I'm soooo sorry for all the stress you are feeling at this time. It sounds like everything will be ok though Hopefull and Happy Thoughts, Heather

 

[Denduran87]

That is so sickening I wish you and your beardies the best and hope nothing comes of it.

 

[Lauram63110]

I am in St Louis, MO and our Petco had the Reptile Rally, too. I really hesitated to take Lizz, but I had gone as soon as it started and nooooobody else was there. When the guy at the table asked if I had one, and I said yes, he asked if I'd go get him, so I did. I gave passing germs a little thought, but hey, there was no one else there. When I got back, a girl was there with a big guy in an aquarium that was feasting on crickets. Lizz was on his leash, on a towel on my arm, and he never left the towl or me. She was letting people hold hers, and they offered to put Lizz in the tank for some crix, but he seems to not care about them. He really like superworms, so I declined. While I dont think her beardie was unhealthy, and I think she was quite nice and generous with letting others hold him, I was glad I kept Lizz to myself after I read this. I'll think twice next time.