Here is a subject we all take very seriously with our pets, yet there is a lot of confusion, misunderstandings and misinformation out there.

This one may be open to some controversy or debate, and I'd love to hear anyone else's take on the subject.

Whenever an animal is captive bred in a sterile environment it lacks exposure to parasites and pathogens commonly encountered in the wild, to most of us that would seem like a good thing, stick with frozen foods, wash our hands every time, bleach out that cage, and so on..

Out in the wild who does this for our snake friends? They live near mud puddles, under moldy boards, (and yes, they have been known to enter large carcasses) constantly eating the grossest stuff imaginable

Why do we keep finding vibrant healthy animals on the ground, near smelly bogs, eating infected toads and dying fish, why are they so vibrant??

Because exposure builds resistance, just like a child getting the pox, once the body deals with the initial shock, the immune system develops, and we never catch it again.

So if a captive bred snake is kept perfectly sterile, that one time you forgot to wash your hands, that one desperate time when you had no money, and went out and picked up a frog, or whatever, that first contamination, could spell the last, because the immune system was not prepared for the assault.

When I discussed this theory with my vet, she wholeheartedly agreed.

Folks who like to rescue have seen this, some of the strongest survivors are the ones kept in the filthiest cages....