# Ranavirus & chytrid



## papafrogger (Oct 21, 2012)

I have seen a few threads on ths subject, but they are more on the scientific side. I thought maybe we could get a thread going on these little nasties for those of us who dont have a degree in biology.

1. What is chytrid/ranavirus?

2. Ways to prevent aforementioned parasites.

3. Testing.

4. Treatment.

I apologize if this subject is well covered in other threads but i found them hard to understand. Thanks for the help.


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## JPccusa (Mar 10, 2009)

I believe this article covers all your questions regarding Chytrid:

Chytrid Fungus « Amphibian Ark

Ranavirus is a viral infection. More info here:

http://www.nwhc.usgs.gov/disease_information/other_diseases/ranavirus.jsp


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## Ed (Sep 19, 2004)

1) chytrid is short for the disease called chytridmycosis which is caused by the fungus Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis 

1) ranavirus is a group of viruses from the family Iridoviridae which are significant causes of death for amphibians, reptiles and in some cases can infect invertebrates or fish. 

2) quarantine, pcr testing... not adding contaminated materials to the enclosures, practicing proper hygiene between enclosures 

3) Testing is self-evident as fecals should be run by a vet and PCR is run by a lab. 

4) Treatment... the most effective treatments are those that are prescribed by a vet in conjunction with a correct diganosis. 

As for quarantine best practices 

general quarantine should be
1) in a seperate area from the established collection
2) requires three clean fecals at least 5-7 days apart
3) minimum of 30 days or 3 clean fecals which ever is longer (same for after treatment)
4) service only after all established enclosures are taken care of (last to be fed, misted etc). 
5) do not cross contaminate, use other equipment for those enclosures (misters, fly collection material) 
6) practice good hygiene between enclosures 
7) disinfect all waste water and double bag and dispose of all solid waste into the proper waste stream. 
8) try to make the enclosure as tight as possible. 
All of these are simple rules 

Ed


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## papafrogger (Oct 21, 2012)

Thanks you guys. I dont know what i would do without this board. 

Both of those scared the hell out of me when i first started looking into the health concerns with pdfs. Now, not so much. From what i gather the best treatment is prevention.


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## Ed (Sep 19, 2004)

Quarantine is actually the best method. For example, a number of the strains of ranavirus don't kill the adult frogs (although there is a nasty one in Europe that does and possible some from Europe) so you may have it in your collection and not know it until it starts to kill tadpoles and/or metamorphs. On an anecdotal basis it appears that positive adults can be managed to produce negative froglets but this requires you to keep the infected frogs away from the uninfected frogs since invertebrates can be a vector for transmission. 

Chytrid is readily treated and cleared from the frogs. 

Some comments 

Ed


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