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Common diseases in snakes
By Hellan Bach of Herpuniverse.com/forum
Allthough this article is primarily for corn snakes, it can also be applied to most other popular snakes:
Corn snakes can be subject to the same diseases and disorders as many other types of snake. Generally corns are make quite hardy snakes, with captive bred (as the majority are) seem to be hardier still.This article will outline some of the more common diseases and disorders along with some basic treatments. The advise of a vet should be sought for any problem that doesnt respond to basic treatment. If in doubt, go to the vet!!
It is best to isolate a snake with any kind of problem to avoid passing on a problem to the rest of your healthy snakes, and to cut stress on the affected snake.Setting them up in a r.u.b or similar tub will have advantages (they are easier to keep sterile for instance) and make sure you offer plenty of hiding places accros the heat gradient.Set the box up in a quiet place, and keep handling to a minimum. External parasites Mites
Mites are tiny, pin head sized arachnids that feed on the blood of a snake. They can often be noticed bulging from the skin of the snake,or crawling over the snakes body. They can also be found in the water dish, often looking like tiny black specks of dust.The most common type found in captive specimens are black mites ( Ophionyssus natricis )these mites multiply at a rapid rate and can spread through an entire collection quite quickly. They can cause lethargy in snakes, dehydration and anemia if they in sufficient numbers.
To check if your snake has mites, look in the water bowl for any dead ones, or let your snake crawl through your tightly clodes hands, so that it rubs its whole body length against you hand. Doing this will dislodge some mites and they will be present on your fingers. Also check around the snakes head, paying attention to the eyes, chin and the top of the head. ( don't worry snake mites are harmless to humans!!) Doing this over a sink will enable you to wash any mites found away immediatly and give your snake a wash over to start removing them straight away.
One old and easy method of removing mites is to place the snake in a box filled with water which is higher than the snakes girth and left (under observation) with the lid on for 10 minute periods ( the lid should still be perforated to allow air flow) adding a few drops of liquid soap to the water will aid in the removal of mites. This however does have drawbacks, a few of the mites will most likely migrate up the snake onto its head in an attempt to survive, these will have to be manually removed by rubbing with a damp cloth. Another old method involves coating the snake in vegetable oil for an hour or so before rinsing off as it is said to suffocate the mites, quite a messy job and probably not the preferred method!!! These methods will probably not kill all mites on the first go and you may have to trat the snake a number of times before all mites are removes sucessfully.
Treatment sprays such as frontline or ivermectin can be applied (diluted by upto 50%) directly onto the snake and used to thoroughly clean the snakes usual vivarium and treatment box ( remove the water bowls first clean these seperatly) throw away all old bedding and disinfect hides and other cage furniture thoroughly by soaking in a 10% bleach solution for at least 10 minutes, boiling for 10 mins or using a preparatory disinfectant such as beaphar.
* Note:
Treating snakes who are in the shedding process is not reccomended,chemical treatments can be absorbed . Also please note usong more than one chemical treatment at a time can build up levels of toxins in the snake to potentially dangerous levels.
Ticks
Ticks are usually browny grey coloured and around 2-4mm in length when they first appear, growing to around 12mm when fully engorged. They arent usually a concearn to captive bred snakes, and are more previlent amongst wild caught specimens. the smae methods described in getting rid of mites can also be used with ticks, however they do tend to remain embedded in the skin even after death. Picking them off with tweezers works well weather they are alive or dead,but be sure to grasp the head of the tick and not just its body, as the head can remain embedded and cause infection.A small blob of petrolium jelly over the tick will help to suffocate it, forcing it to let go.
Digestive disorders This covers a vast assortment of things, with symptoms including, poor appetite,weight loss,diarreah, abnormal stools( colour, frequency,consistancy or smell). Regurgitation of whole or partly digested meals, which if happens more than once can sometimes be a sign of something more than just stress, nervousness, lack of secure hiding places and too high or low temperatures to digest the meal properley ( these should all be ruled out first however).
Bacterial or viral infection, which will require microscopic analysis of stools, or in some cases a sample taken from the digestive system. Treatments for these often need prescise doeages and timings so it is best to seek vet treatment.
If your snake does regurgitate a meal, it is important to give the snake a resting period of 7-10 days before offering food again, during this time it is also better for the snake if no handling takes place. Make sure there is plenty of fresh water available for the snake to drink. The next meal you offer a snake that has regurgitated should be smaller than its normal meal size and work back up to a normal sized meal over a period of time. A mouse that is punctured, is far easier for the snake to digest, so is a mouse that has had its internal structure crushed.
If a snake continues to regurgitate and can hold down nothing at all, seek vet help as soon as possible. Bacterial overgrowth in the intestinal tract
Microbial digestive problems can be treated with metronidazole (flagyl) or sulfadimethoxine ( Albon) both should be used under advice from a vet. There are some natural remedies which can be tried to restore bacteria to normal levels if the gut flora has simply got off track allowing the nasty bacteria to take a hold. This is why resting a snake for a week or two can be beneficial in resoring this balance, a short course of one of the drugs previously mentioned can help to restore levels of " good " bacteria.
If you try any of the natural remedies, make sure you mention this to the vet as they may need to adjust there treatment accordingly.
Grapefruit seed extract has been used for many years as a known bacteria and fungi supressor in the agricultural feild, this is readily available for human use at many health food shops. Add a couple of drops to the snakes water bowl, after removing water for a day, to ensure the snake is thirsty and will drink.
There are a few readily available remedies that can be bought from reptile supply shops, including reptiboost , NutriBAC ect in drops or powder from, these can be added to the water bowl or dusted onto food items. Internal parasites There is a vast array of internal parasites that can affect a snake and cause any of the symptoms described above. These can range from one celled organisms, to tape worms that can be more than the snakes length. Protozoa can cling to the walls of the intestine and irritate the gut, lessening the snakes ability to absorb nutrients. Larger types of parasite ( roundworm and flukes) are usually more common in wild caught snakes which can retain parasites for long periods after being captured .The use of fenbendazole (pancur) might be helpfull in treating wild caught or captive farmed snakes as a precautionary measure. Consult a vet to get a proper dosage measure for the wieght of the snake.
The first thing to do in combating parasites is to indetify the type,clues can be found in examining a fresh stool sample under a microscope ( often a trip to the vet will be needed to do this) to look for minute eggs or parts of parasites.Larger types of parasitic worms can be visible on the snake, flukes for example might be visible clinging to the inside of a snakes mouth, or parts of tape worm in stool or poking out of the snakes vent. Once identified, you can decide on a course of treatment, some treatments may be able to be bought over the counter at supply shops others will need a prescription from a vet.Fisrt you will need to accuratly weigh the snake, as these remedies rely on crtitcal weight ratio, and overdosing can lead to toxicity in the snake. A vet will be able to give an accurate dosage of the appropriate medicine.
Cryptosporidium is a coccidial parasite that is untreatable at this time. It is the most dreaded parasite to most snake keepers. It is quite invasive and inhabits the intestinal tract, which will cause weight loss and regurgitation. It also causes a thickening of the stomach which can sometimes be seen as a swelling in the snakes mid body.This is a tell tale sign in advanced snakes.Transmission of the disease can occur by ingestion of infected liquids,stools or food items, so good hygine is critical to stop cross contamination.Crypto kills snakes quite slowly taking upto two years, and so puts every other snake in your collection at risk. At present it is incurable so isolating any suspected snakes is important, and getting a diagnosis as soon as possible from a vet, who can do a screening test . Skin conditions Corn snakes tend to heal quite quickly from most skin injuries. They will usually shed their skin more often as part of this healing process. Burns The most common skin injury is burning from unguarded or malfunctioning heating/lighting. The best way to combat this is prevention, look at all heating/lighting sources and ask yourself is it possible for the snake to press itself against, or get stuck on/near these. Sooner or later the snake will figure out a way if possible and be silly enough to burn itself. prevention as they say is always better than cure so please bare this in mind when setting up vivariums.
Minor burns can be treated with a topical antibiotic cream such as silvadene, or neomycin.Snakes with minor burns should be placed in a viv/box with paper substrate so no particles can adhere to the burn, with minimal cage furniture ( using hides such as cardboard boxes or hides with no rough edges) and cream applied daily. For more severe burns, consult a vet for proper treatment.
Another common injury to a snakes skin is getting stuck to/on tape. It seems whenever duct/masking tape is used for whatever reason in a snakes viv, the snake will manage to lift up an egde no matter how firmly stuck down the tape seems to be, and will often tear its skin on it.Most glues on tape can be removed if stuck to a snakes body with a little vegetable oil, however it may take a few sheds before the skin has healed up properley. Again the best way to avoid this is prevention, dont risk using tape in a snakes viv. Mouth Rot ( Stomatitis) As tame as captive snakes are, they often dont like being confined into to small an area, and will push excessivly witht heir noses trying to get out. This( along with other factors) can lead to mouth rot, the gums and mouth are great for bacteria to flourish, being moist , dark and warm.
Typically a whitish substance will build up forming a scab and will lead to the snake not being able to close its mouth properley and swelling.Popular opinion suggests that you should gently and carefull remove the scab using a damp cloth and tweezers and treating the infection daily until completly healed up. Mouth rot is usually completly curable with time and dedicated treatment . Mild cases can be treated with medicated mouth wash such as listerine, or a solution of hydrogen peroxide and betadine.(50/50 mix of water to hydrogen peroxide then mix this with a few drops of betadine until the mixture resembles weak tea). Apply the mixture twice daily with a cotton swab.
* Don't apply liberal amounts of the mixture to aviod ingestion. in more severe cases the snake should be taken to a vet for antibiotic treatment. If left untreated mouth rot can lead to infections in the jawbone and septicemia, so please treat cases of mouth rot seriously, inconsistant or delayed treatment can prove fatal.
Respiratory Infections Signs of respiratory infections (RI) in snakes are often the same as those in people, wheezing,sneezing,mucus from the nose and mouth, breathing through the mouth instead of the nose, lethargy and being able to hear a rattling noise when holding the snake. It is possible to treat mild RI's at home by providinh a warm dry viv, raise the temperature to the higher end of the snakes natural range, thsi is like giving the snake an artificial fever to aid in fighting off germs, as with other disorders, isolate the snake, and keep stress to a minimum. Often this will be enough to fight off a mild RI, you might want to add a small amount of inhalant like baby vic in warm water to a jam jar with a pierced lid out of reach to the snake in the viv or outside the viv near the vent. Persistant cases of RI should be seen by a vet for a bacterial culture test and antibiotic treatment.
Egg binding sometimes a female snake will fail to lay her eggs, holding onto them for longer than is normal or healthy for her.It is most noticable as an out of propertion mass in her lower half, or felt as a bulge or hardened mass around the time you would expect her to lay her eggs or soon afterwards. This may be caused by not giving her an appropriate nest box in which to lay her eggs, causing her to delay laying. She will be restless in her search for an appropriate place, in which case, place more choices of nest box in her viv, in the hope that she will choose one and lay naturally.When it becomes evident that she is not going to lay her eggs naturally, a few options are available.manual palpation might get the eggs to move downward, usually they wont budge and remember this is a delicate area so do not use excessive force. A warm bath might help in relaxing the snake and getting movement going. If these methods fail, a trip to the vet is needed so that an xray can be carried out to determine size and position of the eggs and the vet might aspirate the lower most egg to deflate it usually allowing the rest of the eggs to pass naturally.In toehr case a vet might give an injection of oxytocin, the same as given to women to induce labour. This can have limited sucess in snakes. If all else fails, the vet may have to perform surgery to remove eggs if no other option is left available and the snakes health is severly threatened.
Within a few days of a snake laying her clutch of eggs it is important to manually check her entire length for any remaining eggs, this is usually the time keeprs are busy setting up the new clutch of eggs in the incubator and can often miss smaller retained eggs if only a visual check is carried out. I hope you have found this article usefull, the main thing to remember is if in doubt, consult a vet.
This intel first appeared on: http://www.herpuniverse.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=44&t=277
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This intel was contributed by hellan
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May, 2012
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