Melanomas in "black snakes"

[Thamnophis]

On my Dutch forum someone had a very red concinnus that died of melanomas. And later a anerythristic concinnus also had a melanoma.
Both animals were 6 years old, but not from the same litter. Do not know if they are related, but will ask him.
He went to a vet who performed an autopsy and found that the cancer had already spread considerably. Melanomas occur often in black snakes was his conclusion.
According to the vet (after he consulted some other specialists) this could be prevented by using UV light.

Personally I have had many black snakes in the last 40 years and I have never had one (or took care of one) that had melanomas.

What is your experience in this?

[Invisible Snake]

According to the vet (after he consulted some other specialists) this could be prevented by using UV light.

That's interesting because melanoma in humans is caused by excessive exposure to UV light.

[Thamnophis]

That's interesting because melanoma in humans is caused by excessive exposure to UV light.

That's why I also was very surprised about the answer of the vet.
Cannot find literature about what he says.

[chris-uk]

On my Dutch forum someone had a very red concinnus that died of melanomas. And later a anerythristic concinnus also had a melanoma.
Both animals were 6 years old, but not from the same litter. Do not know if they are related, but will ask him.
He went to a vet who performed an autopsy and found that the cancer had already spread considerably. Melanomas occur often in black snakes was his conclusion.
According to the vet (after he consulted some other specialists) this could be prevented by using UV light.

Personally I have had many black snakes in the last 40 years and I have never had one (or took care of one) that had melanomas.

What is your experience in this?

That's a bit of jumpy conclusion to come to based on two samples.
Single keeper with two snakes with melanoma, I'd be considering an environmental cause. Other than that, my conclusion would probably be that it was a strange coincidence unless there was literature to suggest that black snakes are more susceptible to melanoma.

[Stefan-A]

Malignant melanoma of the skin (CMM ) is associated with ultraviolet radiation exposure, but the mechanisms and even the wavelengths responsible are unclear. Here we use a mammalian model to investigate melanoma formed in response to precise spectrally defined ultraviolet wavelengths and biologically relevant doses. We show that melanoma induction by ultraviolet A (320–400 nm) requires the presence of melanin pigment and is associated with oxidative DNA damage within melanocytes. In contrast, ultraviolet B radiation (280–320 nm) initiates melanoma in a pigment-independent manner associated with direct ultraviolet B DNA damage. Thus, we identified two ultraviolet wavelength-dependent pathways for the induction of CMM and describe an unexpected and significant role for melanin within the melanocyte in melanomagenesis.



Melanoma induction by ultraviolet A but not ultraviolet B radiation requires melanin pigment : Nature Communications : Nature Publishing Group (http://www.nature.com/ncomms/journal/v3/n6/full/ncomms1893.html)
http://www.nature.com/ncomms/journal/v3/n6/pdf/ncomms1893.pdf






Interesting subject. This might require further googling.

[Thamnophis]

Indeed Stefan, interesting...

[i_heart_sneakie_snakes]

My first garter, Sneaky Snake, died from cancer. I thought Melanoma was skin cancer though and that is not what she had.

[snake man]

Melanoma is skin cancer.

My first garter, Sneaky Snake, died from cancer. I thought Melanoma was skin cancer though and that is not what she had.

[guidofatherof5]

I lost a red radix(Boomerang) to confirmed skin cancer.

[Thamnophis]

Melanoma is indeed a cancer that starts on the skin, but it metastasizes very aggressive and that is what makes it very lethal.

[Thamnophis]

The owner of the two snakes in the first topic assured me that both snakes were not related.

[ConcinusMan]

That's interesting because melanoma in humans is caused by excessive exposure to UV light.

exactly. UV is the cause, not the cure. I wouldn't use UV for garters at all, although a weak output such as reptisun 2.0 probably doesn't hurt anything as long as the snakes can hide from the exposure.

Another thing that doesn't make any sense is that black snakes are LESS vulnerable to skin cancers, not MORE vulnerable. Black is melanin. Melanin protects cells from UV/radiation damage. Albinos have no such protection and will develop cancer and/or blindness from long term UV exposure.

I would seriously look into the lighting. Excessive UV is the ONLY cause if this is truley melanoma cancer

[Stefan-A]

Another thing that doesn't make any sense is that black snakes are LESS vulnerable to skin cancers, not MORE vulnerable. Black is melanin. Melanin protects cells from UV/radiation damage.
Apparently melanin makes animals susceptible to skin cancer caused by UVA, while it protects against skin cancer caused be UVB and UVC.

[ConcinusMan]

Interesting. And it just so happens that most lighting with UV output is usually restricted to UVA or at least the majority of it is UVA. I still think that bad lighting probably did this.

[Stefan-A]

I still think that bad lighting probably did this.
I think there's no necessary connection between the lighting and what happened here. People who haven't smoked in their entire lives, or lived in cities, or worked in coal mines, do get lung cancer too, just not as often.

And one case is just a data point, not a pattern. I don't think the vet or the specialists have the statistics to back up the assertion.

[Thamnophis]

As far as I know the two snakes live in terrarium that are lighted with normal spotlamps like most of us use. Most certainly not with UV bulbs.

Black snakes have in their skin many melanocytes (these are the cells that produce the dark pigment - melanim) so it is obvious that they have a bigger chance to get melanomas. Melanoma can originate in any part of the body that contains melanocytes.
I suspect that the chance that the cause is a genetic matter is the biggest.

Dark (black) snakes will have to sunbath in the wild to survive and get a fair portion of UV light. When this would easily cause melanomas, the black snakes would be less successful than other colored snakes.
And... in the colder regions melanism occurs often. Strange, because in the colder regions they will have to sunbath more often to function. Okay, because they are black they warm quicker, but does this make an enormous difference?