Respiratory diseases, diagnostics, and therapy in snakes.

The pathogenesis of respiratory tract disease in snakes is complex. A snake must first be exposed to an infectious agent. If the snake is immunocompetent, then it usually prevails over the disease. When conditions of captive husbandry fall far less than those encountered in nature, snakes begin a battle that they have a hard time winning. Preventive education, preventive medicine, and quarantine allow clients to know that a health partnership is essential to accomplishing every veterinarian's mission, namely, a healthy pet.