Take extra precaution with WC snakes.

[Zdravko092368]

Hey guys, just a friendly reminder that you can't take ANY chances with SFD right now especially if you live in the Northeast, it is bad and it has spread a lot. I have been encountering it frequently this year in Ontario, any snake you bring in from the wild should be quarantined long term to see if any symptoms of SFD appear.

Many wild snakes do not present symptoms but with the stress of captivity the blisters soon form rather quickly. If another snake comes into contact with the spores they will get SFD, extremely contagious and has no cure. Keep new WC additions in a separate room and handle them LAST or not at all, using disposable gloves isn't a bad idea either.

Hate to scare everyone but it's worth being extra careful.

[Eddie]

What is SFD?

[Qwerty3159]

Snake Fungal Disease.
https://www.nwhc.usgs.gov/disease_information/other_diseases/snake_fungal_disease.jsp

Seems to be a particular hell for timber rattlers.

[guidofatherof5]

Great thread, thanks for the heads up. With this in mind, the standard 90-120 quarantine will not protect the rest of your snakes. I would also suggest not using and wild items as decorations, this just an extra precaution.
https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Amanda_Guthrie6/publication/283511232_Detection_of_Snake_Fungal_Disease_Due_to _Ophidiomyces_ophiodiicola_in_Virginia_USA/links/573ddd9908ae298602e6d144.pdf

This PDF gives some information about possible disease transmission. Looks like herping trips will be a changing.
http://northeastparc.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/NEPARC_SFD_FAQver3.pdf

[Zdravko092368]

It spreads through direct contact for sure, I have witnessed it first hand between two WC snakes one with SFD one without, certainly it was not my intention to spread it to another snake but I was not aware one of the two WC snakes had SFD and was not that educated on the subject at the time. I have seen SFD so far this year in Eastern Milks, Eastern Garters, Eastern Foxsnakes and Northern Redbellied snakes in 5 different locations.

Two years ago I was first introduced to the disease with a gravid WC eastern who I took off a road, I was going to hold her until she had babies and then release them all back near where found(obviously not directly on the road). Well blisters formed shortly after capture, at the time I thought it was just scale rot/water blisters from improper care, moved her to a bone dry setup but nothing changed. Then she gave birth and shortly after birth all the babies developed blisters and within a few weeks many were totally deformed. I thought it was a pretty rare case and haven't seen much SFD since, until this year. SFD thrives in moisture and we've had a very wet year and a mild winter which I think is causing my sightings to become so high.

[Albert Clark]

Thanks Zdrav! It has been reported to be targeting the water snake populations very extensively as well.

[Kantar]

I used to use several bamboo plants in my tanks, bought from Walmart because they were so cheap and some of them lasted. They went from store shelf to the tanks, and for years everything was fine, then I bought a new batch of bamboo plants and to my horror a week later I had a tank full of non indigenous spiders the size of specs of sand. I used a powerful magnifying tool to confirm they were 8 legged, but I could not identify the spiders. I tried contacting the company (from florida) that manufactured them but got no reply. I ended up gutting the tanks, putting the jungle vines, fake plants dishes and hides in very hot water, washed the tanks inside and out, tried soaking the bamboo in vinegar water (plants died, oh well) and hoped for the best. Now I quarantine my bamboo plants, transplant them into something different and things have been fine now for 2 years

[cbotable]

Thanks for the heads up, I've never even heard of this before. Is there danger in human/infected snake contact? My kids and I have been searching for snakes (to no avail) and I wonder if we should take extra precaution?

[Zdravko092368]

Thanks for the heads up, I've never even heard of this before. Is there danger in human/infected snake contact? My kids and I have been searching for snakes (to no avail) and I wonder if we should take extra precaution?

Nope it's a snake specific fungus that only affects snakes.