Quarantine Protocol for New Arrivals

Quarantine is not optional and it is not negotiable. Every animal entering your collection — bought, traded, rescued, or returned from a show — goes through it. The point is simple: a parasite load or pathogen carried by one new arrival can, in a shared airspace with shared tools, take down everything you own. Quarantine is the wall between a single problem and a collection-wide catastrophe.

Physical separation

• Separate room if possible, separate airspace at minimum. Not the shelf below your collection.
• Dedicated tools — hook, tongs, water bowl, cleaning supplies — that never leave quarantine.
• Service quarantine animals last, after the main collection, then wash hands and change or sanitize.
• Simple, sterile setup: paper towel substrate, two hides, a water bowl. You are watching, not decorating.

How long

The working standard is 30 to 90 days, and longer for animals from high-risk sources or with any sign of illness. Snakes purchased from large mixed collections sit at the long end. The clock resets if symptoms appear. Patience here is the entire value of the exercise.

The records that make it work

Quarantine without records is just waiting. Weigh on intake and weekly. Note every feeding (accepted/refused), every shed, every defecation, and any observation. A simple log turns vague worry into a clear timeline a vet can act on — and it's the same discipline that scales a hobby into a zoo-standard operation.

Clearing an animal

An animal clears quarantine when it has spent the full window symptom-free, is eating and shedding normally, has held or gained weight, and (ideally) has a clean fecal. Only then does it earn a place near the rest of your collection. The wall comes down on the animal's terms, not your impatience.