Mold on my snake...?

[kibakiba]

A few days ago my mom ran over a garter snake with the lawnmower, it survives and wasn't seriously injured. She has a small kink in her neck, though she seems to be okay. When my mom brought her to me she didn't move much and had some scales sticking up, along with the kink in her neck. I decided to keep her for a while and see if she'd be okay, she's been doing fine... Except today I've found that there is something that looks like mold growing on her spiked up scales. She's been drinking a lot of the water in the dish and she sat in the water on a hot day. other than that I don't think there's any humidity in there and she basks in the light I have over the tank. There's 2 other snakes in the tank with her... They leave her alone, except the female I have, she seems to keep my male away from her. My female will stay near her a lot of the day and she puffs up when my male comes near. The male stays away from both of them. Anyways, is there anything to help with the mold problem? I'll try to take a picture of it, but I don't know if it'll show. What else could it be?

Thanks for any information you can give me.

[Selkielass]

Bumping for attention.
I have no Idea what is going on, but I'm pretty sure a picture would help the resident experts.

[drache]

what's the "mold" like? is it sticky, dry, slimy, etc?
could it be signs of an impending shed?
if the snake has a kinked neck, how do you know it's fine?
where are the other snakes from?
there are a few other things I'm curious about, but I don't want to bombard you with questions
welcome to the forum

[guidofatherof5]

If your snake was hit by a lawn mower is there any chance that "mold" could be grass debris from the blades?

[kibakiba]

It's white and it's growing under the scales, I haven't touched it because most of it is by her head and I don't want to hurt her. And I think she's fine because she's pretty active, she acts like my other garters with the exception of her moving backwards sometimes and sitting under the lamp longer. I'll try to get a picture later today, she's in a hiding area and I don't want to hurt her by pulling her out.

[mustang]

wow the blades of mercy!

[ConcinusMan]

Snakes can in fact get fungal infections of the skin, like people do. As to whether or not yours has a fungal infection, we have nothing to go by to determine that. If it were possible for you to look at a sample, or the snake itself, under a microscope you would be able to say yes or no.

[kibakiba]

I'm debating putting antibacterial ointment (like polysporin) on her or letting her go, I've separated her from my other snakes because my mom made a good point that since I don't know what it is, I wouldn't want it spreading to the snakes that I adore the most. I cant afford a vet to check her out. I'll attach a couple pictures that i got of her... If I can. I don't do so well on forums ;)
She's been more active since she came out of her hiding area and the kink in her neck isn't as bad as it had originally looked, depending on how shes laying, you cant even see it. What's sad is, when i was picking her up I noticed a little watery substance around one of her scales that was upturned and had the mold substance on them. I was hoping that she might shed a couple days after I kept her, but there's no sign of that happening, so I'm losing hope. Anyways if any of you can see the pictures clearly enough, maybe you can help me identify what it is or something.

Thanks

[ConcinusMan]

I can't tell anything from that photo except that it looks like a pretty handsome T. ordinoides. I've seen captive ordinoides develop blister disease overnight, caused by poor husbandry though. T. ordinoides do seem very prone to skin infections, especially if they get injured. Could also be water trapped beneath old skin, due to failure to shed. Sometimes the skin breaks and a little water comes out. It is possible I suppose for a fungus to grow between the old skin and the new, especially if water is trapped there. It wouldn't hurt one bit to let that snake get some UV exposure from natural sunlight or UVB emitting bulbs. Fungus and bacteria tend to not do so well with UV exposure.

Seems like you might have female there. Very similar to this one currently in my care:

http://img44.imageshack.us/img44/2552/gedc1470.jpg

[kibakiba]

I'll try that. I have a UVB lamp in my snakes tank. I'm not sure whether I should put her in the tanke with my other snakes though, the white spots have gotten larger and slightly grey in the middle. I can stick her outside in a container for a bit since it's still sunny and warm. I'll check back later to see what you guys think about keeping her in the tank with my other snakes, because I don't know much about fungal problems, or any reptile problems really. I only know about scale rote because my first snake had it pretty badly. Should I try feeding her now or wait until she looks better? I tried feeding her the day after my mom gave her to me but she seemed too weak to take it, but as I said she's been moving more and being a lot more active. Thank you for the information and I'm sorry my pictures aren't more clear, I don't have a macro setting on it unfortunately.

[guidofatherof5]

Looking at the photos it looks like scales are missing. Could these be bite mark from a cat or other animal?

[ConcinusMan]

Looking at the photos it looks like scales are missing. Could these be bite mark from a cat or other animal?


Possibly. It's hard to tell since the photos are blurry, but from what I can see, it looks a lot like a typical ordinoides with blister disease.

[mustang]

Possibly. It's hard to tell since the photos are blurry, but from what I can see, it looks a lot like a typical ordinoides with blister disease.
i was shadowing a vet today and i found something similar to blister desiese in a book and it was a blister containing a hard substance comind from scales also with white liquid...forgot what t was called

[ConcinusMan]

I've seen that too. In fact, I'm not going to dig around to recall the snake or user, but one died recently had something like that going on.

Bottom line is, if this is a situation where the spots are filled with fluid, the situation is serious and needs to be treated immediately. Releasing the snake wouldn't be a good idea since pus or blisters, or whatever it is, will most likely be fatal without proper treatment.

[mustang]

I've seen that too. In fact, I'm not going to dig around to recall the snake or user, but one died recently had something like that going on.
ya...but i just saw it ,i wrote down wrong diagnosis so i cant tell yall more about it

[ConcinusMan]

I might suggest that the snake be given a bath in warm povidone iodine/water solution for a few minutes, twice a day and kept on clean paper towels, and kept warm (about 86 degrees) 24/7. Even if this is not a skin infection, it probably will do no harm, and if it is, it has a good chance of clearing up with treatment.

[kibakiba]

The scales are still there, they're peeled back. I wouldnt be surprised if my moms cat had attacked it. We've seen opossums and coyotes around here... They could have gotten her too.I got a couple more pictures with my webcam that are slightly more clear. Where can I get povidone iodine? I've actually never heard of it. Thanks

[justme]

You can purchase the povidone iodine at Target and at drug stores. I think treating her for blisters sounds about right. If you have the funds, a vet trip wouldn't hurt as well.

And concinnusman, your snake is gorgeous! What a knockout!

[ConcinusMan]

Oh that one. Naaahh. She's just OK looking. That's a rather old female and I'm trading her off to Don Belnap.(ssssnakeluvr).

Now this red stripe ordinoides is my (and many people's) favorite. She's smart and so tame too. (and very gravid:D)
http://img257.imageshack.us/img257/5274/gedc1462.jpg

And you have probably not seen my blue anerythristic oregon red spotted. Wait, yes you have, one of them is my avatar. Anyway, enough about my snakes. If you want to see them just go here: http://www.thamnophis.com/forum/general-talk/7090-concinnusmans-garters.html

Or for video, use the link in my sig.

Now those new pics of the injured garter aren't much better but it looks more like some scales got pulled up is all. Go ahead and treat for about a week but don't forget to rinse well and keep the snake dry and warm. Those pulled up scales will usually heal back to normal in a shed or two.

DO NOT let the snake get any iodine in it's mouth or water dish. It is poison.

[kibakiba]

I cant afford a vet, unfortunately. If I could I really would because she is a sweet snake. I'll write it down... Do you think Walgreens would have it? My mother is picking up my prescription for me while I'm at the therapist so if its there she can grab it for me. What ratio of iodine should I use? 1 part iodine and 3 parts water maybe?
Also, when she slithers shes been going backwards and it's happening more now, do you think it's because of her neck injury? I read in a garter snake book that gravid females slither backwards when they're close to giving birth... but she doesn't seem to be gravid. Anyways, thanks again for you're help... You're more help than at the last forum I was in ;)

[ConcinusMan]

Just put a few drops of povidone iodine (same red stuff they use to clean wounds and prep for surgery) in the water, just enough to give it a little color. make sure the water temperature is close to the same temperature as the snake. Try to keep the snake's head away from the solution and try to get the body to soak in the liquid for as long as you can, up to 10 minutes. This is only necessary if there is actually broken skin or fluid-filled blisters, punctures, or other injuries and will help get rid of, or prevent infection. Not really necessary if all that's wrong is bent back scales but anyway, it can't hurt. Just don't poison the little guy. Rinse thoroughly and keep it away from his mouth and nose. If the neck is kinked it probably won't help with that. Sounds like a spinal injury. Many snakes go on to live full lives, even with kinked broken spines. If you have trouble soaking him you could probably get idodine swabs or pads and/or apply the iodine with a cotton ball, leave it on for a minute, then rinse.

If he seems fairly alert and there is tongue flicking going on, he's probably going to be fine as long as he doesn't get an infection. I've seen massive blood loss, exposed ribs, broken spines, etc. from lawn mowers and they survived.

[kibakiba]

That seems hard... some of it is really close yo her head. I'll try a q-tip.
She is pretty alert, she perks up more of I'm holding her or if there's something going on in my room. She tends to bask a lot of there's a big heat source over her and seems to sleep like that for hours. She may be more active than I notice though, because I don't want to stress her out :) I'll tell you how it goes tomorrow if I'm able to buy the iodine, if not I hope she's fine for a couple days (we don't have a car so we cant go places whenever)
Thanks again!

[ConcinusMan]

Your welcome and good luck. Please keep us updated.

[mustang]

keep her as a normal garter but in a more steril enviorment (paper towels, isolate from others, ect.) it might be fixed after next shed(i hope)

[kibakiba]

So when I got home my mom had "tincture iodine" on the table and said it was all she could find. Would this work the same as the other type of iodine? If not, we have a couple more days before we can get a different kind. The snake is doing fine right now, she's been laying in her paper towels and occasionally slithering around.

[Spankenstyne]

I didn't notice this question addressed yet but: please keep it separate from the rest of your collection.

[kibakiba]

Thanks, I separated her last night :)

Shes a little bit more active right now, shes been moving around the container nonstop.

[kibakiba]

Well, today I walked in to the room to find that the snake was twitching and rolling around in the container, so I guess it's a bit late to treat her right now. We can't find the iodine anywhere and I didn't know if the one my mom bought would work. Right now she's laying in a old box... She's still alive but I don't think she'll live much longer.

[guidofatherof5]

Very sorry to hear this news.:(

[Mommy2many]

Sorry to hear about your snake:(

[kibakiba]

I had my mom put her down because I couldn't bear seeing her in pain, but when she came back she said that the snake took off when she set her on the ground. She didnt bother going after her because she believes that it should die on its own time. I hope she's going to die happy being out in the sunshine, rather than a box in my room. Maybe she'll be fine and next year I'll see her again. Probably a slim chance, but I can wish.

[guidofatherof5]

Back to nature. Probably a good end.
Thank you for looking after her and being concerned.:)

[ConcinusMan]

Sorry to hear that. You did put forth a good effort and that is commendable. Sometimes there's nothing you can do about unseen internal injuries. Iodine wouldn't helped in that case. Thanks for trying.

[kibakiba]

It's me who should be thanking you guys. You gave me information and knowledge on what to do in this sort of situation. I would have left her in the tank with my other snakes and hoped for the best, which might have ended up harming them too. Thanks for all your help and concern :)

[Spankenstyne]

You put forth a very commendable effort, you did everything you could.
Often with reptiles by the time they're showing signs of sickness or injury it can be too late, it's part of the way they're built and helps increase their odds of survival. Doesn't help us feel any better about it when we try to help though ;)

Thank you for trying, and thanks for sharing the story and letting us try to help out.

[guidofatherof5]

You put forth a very commendable effort, you did everything you could.
Often with reptiles by the time they're showing signs of sickness or injury it can be too late, it's part of the way they're built and helps increase their odds of survival. Doesn't help us feel any better about it when we try to help though ;)

Thank you for trying, and thanks for sharing the story and letting us try to help out.

I second your thoughts. You worded it very well.:)

[The Snake Whisperer]

Perhaps in the wild, your snake will know of a way to heal herself and end up living a good long life. We humans have barely begun to scratch the surface of understanding animals, their intelligence, and their capabilities because to begin to understand and see these requires us to learn to look at things from the animal's perspective, not the human perspective. Animals do have mysterious ways of healing themselves and recovering from problems which we humans would assume they wouldn't survive. One example is a huge buck deer that a relative of mine had shot and was skinning and butchering, that deer had obviously suffered a broken leg twice, one foreleg and one hindleg, you could see the changes in the bones from these obviously old, completely healed fractures. Until I saw that buck, I wouldn't have thought a deer could possibly survive a broken leg in the wild in the Wisconsin Northwoods where there are plenty of large predators present.

[kibakiba]

This was quite a while ago. By now the snake is either long gone or still wandering around. I know the sun could have helped it quite a lot when I let it go. Who knows. Maybe next year when I'm wandering in the field I'll find her again ;) She was pretty old and raggedy looking, though.

[guidofatherof5]

This was quite a while ago. By now the snake is either long gone or still wandering around. I know the sun could have helped it quite a lot when I let it go. Who knows. Maybe next year when I'm wandering in the field I'll find her again ;) She was pretty old and raggedy looking, though.

They are tough as nails.:rolleyes:

[kibakiba]

Oh, I know! Snakey put up with 3 weeks of me trying to feed him bugs. Now look at him, he's a nice fat pinky eating machine :P

[guidofatherof5]

Oh, I know! Snakey put up with 3 weeks of me trying to feed him bugs. Now look at him, he's a nice fat pinky eating machine :P

That's good news to hear.:)