November 17, 2014, By John Virata,
Snake
Fungal Disease, first confirmed in a captive rat snake in 2006, has now
been confirmed in 14 species of wild snakes across the Eastern and
Midwest United States. The disease, thought to be caused by the fungus
Ophidiomyces (formerly Chrysosporium) ophiodiicola, a fungus, but is not
the definitive cause of SFD. The disease has been reported in snakes in
Florida, Illinois, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New Jersey, New York,
Ohio, South Carolina, Tennessee and Wisconsin.
Scientists
are not sure how the snakes acquire the disease, but do know that it
has devastating and usually fatal consequences for the snakes that catch
it. The United States Geological Survey National Wildlife Health
Center has so far collected evidence of the fungus on several types of
non-venomous and venomous snakes, including the northern water snake
(Nerodia sipedon), eastern racer (Coluber constrictor), rat snake
(Pantherophis obsoletus species complex), timber rattlesnake (Crotalus
horridus), massasauga (Sistrurus catenatus), pygmy rattlesnake (Sistrurus miliarius), and milk snake (Lampropeltis triangulum).
The
disease is devastating to the snakes because it attacks the mouth and
face area of the snakes, which prevents them from eating and drinking
water. Its symptoms include scabs and crusty scales. According to
researchers the outermost layer of the skin separates from the
underlying skin and the eyes become cloudy even though the snake is not
in shed. The face of the snake also becomes swollen. Some species don’t
show any outward signs of the fungus, but when they are necropsied, the
fungus is found in the lungs.
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment
You only need to enter your comment once! Comments will appear once they have been moderated. This is so as to stop the would-be comedian who has been spamming the comments here with inane and often offensive remarks. You know who you are!