The cause of a fatal illness that affects captive snakes has been identified, a study has shown.
The condition - called Inclusion Body Disease (IBD) - affects constrictor snakes including boas and pythons.
There is no treatment and symptoms include "stargazing" - a fixed upward stare - as well as breathing problems and general muscular paralysis.
It was long suspected that the disease was caused by a virus, but until recently its identity remained elusive.
The research is published in the open-access journal mBio.
In this breakthrough study, researchers from the University of California San Francisco analysed samples obtained from snakes diagnosed with IBD, using sensitive DNA sequencing techniques.
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