Help! Snake with Skin Lesions!

[BohemianReptilia]

Hey! So I may APPEAR to be a newbie here but it's just a new account, want to get my new business name out there. But I have a problem. I bought a Red Tailed Green Rat Snake about 3 months ago and she was told to be Captive Bred and a great eater and tame. Well, she came to me tame, however she hasn't eaten since I got her. I tried live and f/t mice, f/t rats, brained mice, freshly killed mice, and even f/t chicks, but nothing has worked. However, today I was trying the whole "paper bag" trick with a chick, and I noticed a bunch of strange skin lesions down her back. I snapped a shot of an area where there are three next to each other. These are towards the end of her body, but not right above her tail. She has 2 or 3 more further up her body, but not close to each other:

Has anyone seen anything like this? They seem to be healed over and aren't wet/pussing, but they do bump up off the skin. It is really odd to me, and I am wondering if she is possibly sick and that is why she is not eating. Any help is appreciated! Thanks!

 

[Red Earth Exotics]

is it possible that any of the live food you have tried nibbled on her? i haven't had any experience with wounds like this, you may want to go to a vet and check it out. could be why she won't eat.

 

[BohemianReptilia]

I thought it might be the live mouse I gave her, but that was at least a month ago, and it seems odd because they are in a straight line right down her spine. I think I am going to go to the vet if I don't find anyone who knows what this might be, because otherwise she is healthy and active, so she doesn't seem like she is sick... even though she hasn't been eating.

 

[TehPenguin]

From the pictures, It merely looks part of her pattern, but snakes aren't my thing.

 

[BohemianReptilia]

From the pictures, It merely looks part of her pattern, but snakes aren't my thing.

Definitely not her pattern. You can feel them, they are lumps. And there appears to be scab-like material over them.

 

[TehPenguin]

Ah, pics are a bit too blurry. Maybe some kind of spine problem? That would explain the perfect alignment.

 

[BohemianReptilia]

Sorry about the blurry pics. The flash made them not visible, and when the flash is off on my camera the pictures tend to be blurry unless u are COMPLETELY still.

 

[Beazer]

Hey, did you see the bumps before the sores? One thing with Gonyosomas is most you see are WC. And they are LOOOOOADED with parasites and in captivity, with stress of handling, the parasites overload their system. This could be why it hasnt been eating. The sores could be a number of things, so if you can, are you able to tell us what your set up is like, the humidity levels (if you dont know the percentage just tell us how you provide the humidity), and what the cool end/basking temps are? With old world ratsnakes, never trust people who claim they are "CB" adults. If I am not mistake, Gonyosomas are pretty difficult to breed. As far as the skin sores go, I have seen that on WC gonyosomas before where the entire scale just falls off. I've never personally kept them so I am not too familiar with the parasitology on them and common scale infections with them. Though, for right now I would suggest to clean the infected area, if possible use papertowels for substrate (if you can maintain proper humidity), and only go in to clean or gently lift the hide to check on it (stress weakens the immune system). Also, make sure the basking temps are right. I would definitely take it to the vet though so they can get an idea of what parasites it may have/does have. I am probably going to say it definitely has Fluke worm. Just be careful on the techniques vets use to treat parasites, some can be overly tramatic on the snakes system (like using droncit). If you are able to find out the parasites be sure to go to a ratsnake forum and ask the best ways to treat them. Colubrids are really hard when it comes to treating illnesses compared to pythons and boas.
For feeding, try a live rat pup and just drop it in the cage a few mins after lights out and keep the room dark. If that doesnt work, try feeding it a frog or frog scented prey. Rat pups are the best cause you can leave them in over night and not worry about biting, also they move perfectly without spooking the snake. For most wc snakes, its just best to get the animal feeding in the cage first. Stress of pulling them out tends to scare them into not eating (also dont handle them much, if at all, for a few months so their immune system builds and so they get comfortable). Hopefully that helped.


-Jon DeLong

 

[BohemianReptilia]

Wow thanks so much for that!

I am not sure of exact humidity of the tank, but I spray her down 3 times a day, until the glass is literally dripping wet. She has a stick and 2 tension bars to climb on, and a hide on the warm side. The floor of the warm side stays about 92-95 degrees depending on the time of day (since I have so many animals, my room heats up as the day goes on), and the cool side never drops below 80 unless it's night time. At night, it's about 75 in the room, and her heat pad is kept on.

I will try a live rat pup with her, but what you are saying was my suspicion: that these lesions are caused by a parasite. I will definitely give the vet a call, but thank you SO much for your help. It really means a lot.

 

[Beazer]

I am thinking its more of a fungal/bacterial infection. Most likely it does have parasites though, just saying to kill 2 birds with one stone lol. Sometimes internal parasites will have external manifestations though. The lesions dont seem to be anything caused by parasites that would live under the skin. Best of luck to you and your snake and please keep us updated! Also, you should buy "Understanding Reptile Parasites" by Dr. Klingenberg. He just came out with a totally revised edition and its only like $12.00 and its the best $12.00 you could ever spend on a reptile book. Real legit information too, not one of those BS reptile books written by morons lol.

-Jon DeLong