Reptile & Amphibian Forums

After a month of apprehension and stress, worrying whether this snake will survive, I finally can breathe easier. This is a new female Lachesis stenophrys, that was imported a little over a month ago, from Costa Rica. It arrived with several patches of infected ventral scutes(necrotizing dermatitis), which often plagues bushmasters and can be fatal(loosely tied to their pink belly problems as well.

Well, upon arrival, the snake decided it wouldn't shed either. So for the past month, I've been trying to acclimate it, and treat the belly problem with anti-fungal powder, as well, as prophylactically treating HER with Baytril via a nebulizer(which is less stressful, and is amazingly effective at providing adequate humidity). I am sure trying to orally treat or injectably treat this snake would kill it.

She's eaten 4 times thus far, and although, quite nasty, appears to be a very healthy snake, outside of curing the ventral scutes.

Here are some pics. Enjoy!

..that's what scroll bars are for!

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NOTE....ALL pics taken with Nikon D70 DSLR, 18-70mm lens, Autofocus/Full Auto(ISO, Aperture)

Matt,
Very nice L. stenophrys!
Did a vet tell you that "pink belly" is a form of necrotizing dermatitis? Or maybe the other way around?
I would like to see some citations about this.

However, a very nice specimen!

Randal

No Randal, the two are separate conditions. Possibly interrelated. I've yet to have the skin(neither shed, nor cultures from the actual snake) analyzed yet. You know thats the catch-22 with these things. Trying to treat them stresses them and you're DA$Med if you do, and DA$Med if you don't.

I haven't noticed any actual reddening of the ventral scutes on this snake, so I don't think it actually had the pink belly(internal bleeding) condition, which is lucky. The belly looks very clear..actually a cream color, except for the infected scales which look like you typically see on burm pythons with infected scutes.....this is treatable.

MCH

Matt,
Thats good to know.
I didn't know "pink belly" was internal bleeding though!
I have had it cultured and so has San Diego Zoo, (and I'm sure other institutions) but all we have come up with is un-described bacteria. The bacteria's didn't show any sensitivity though. Whats amazing though, is this same disease shows up in Boa c. ssp.!
I think the cause, is keeping these snakes too damp. We KNOW what the effect is!

RB

IF it gets to the point of pink belly, then I agree, it's too late. If, though, its limited to a fungal infection, it can be treated.

Ripa(2002, Second Edition)indicates that necropsy has yeiled Stenotrophomonas mallopholia and Flavobacterium odoratum. It also indicates the bleeding through capillaries.

First, Matt, great shots and I hope that the snake acclimates and does well for you.

We had a similar situation with one of our bushmasters. We treated the affected ventral area with Silvadene and had great success. Thankfully, we didn't have to resort to antibiotics but that would have been our next course had the condition not cleared up in a very short amount of time.

Randall, when you were at the zoo did you exhibit bushmasters? We currently have a colony of four stenophrys and it seems like the one that is on exhibit is always showing subtle signs of stress not matter how much "density" we provide in the exhibit. As soon as they go off exhibit, the feed and seem to do much better. We don't have huge traffic flow of people so I am unsure what is causing the problems (temps, humidity levels, etc. are all good). My only thought is that in an effort to "force" the snake to hide in a way where it can still be seen by the general public, that this perhaps could be putting undue stress on them.

>>IF it gets to the point of pink belly, then I agree, it's too late. If, though, its limited to a fungal infection, it can be treated.
>>
>>Ripa(2002, Second Edition)indicates that necropsy has yeiled Stenotrophomonas mallopholia and Flavobacterium odoratum. It also indicates the bleeding through capillaries.
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Rob Carmichael, Curator
The Wildlife Discovery Center at Elawa Farm
Lake Forest, IL

N/P

>>First, Matt, great shots and I hope that the snake acclimates and does well for you.
>>
>>We had a similar situation with one of our bushmasters. We treated the affected ventral area with Silvadene and had great success. Thankfully, we didn't have to resort to antibiotics but that would have been our next course had the condition not cleared up in a very short amount of time.
>>
>>Randall, when you were at the zoo did you exhibit bushmasters? We currently have a colony of four stenophrys and it seems like the one that is on exhibit is always showing subtle signs of stress not matter how much "density" we provide in the exhibit. As soon as they go off exhibit, the feed and seem to do much better. We don't have huge traffic flow of people so I am unsure what is causing the problems (temps, humidity levels, etc. are all good). My only thought is that in an effort to "force" the snake to hide in a way where it can still be seen by the general public, that this perhaps could be putting undue stress on them.
>>
>>
>>>>IF it gets to the point of pink belly, then I agree, it's too late. If, though, its limited to a fungal infection, it can be treated.
>>>>
>>>>Ripa(2002, Second Edition)indicates that necropsy has yeiled Stenotrophomonas mallopholia and Flavobacterium odoratum. It also indicates the bleeding through capillaries.
>>-----
>>Rob Carmichael, Curator
>>The Wildlife Discovery Center at Elawa Farm
>>Lake Forest, IL
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Rob Carmichael, Curator
The Wildlife Discovery Center at Elawa Farm
Lake Forest, IL

Rob,

A site I found for Silvadene indicated that the cream is effective against bacteria, if you debride the wound....did you try this with your snakes?

I know of other zoos that have taken their Lachesis off display because of feeding/stress concerns. Some zoos actually cover the glass with colored cellaphane(sp?) plastic and leave just a clear viewing strip for visitors to peer through.

Matt

In mild cases, we simply wiped the area clean (and perhaps swab with betadine) and then applied the Silvadene over the affected areas. In more severe cases, we would debride dead or necrotic tissue, swab with betadine (veterinary grade), pat dry and then apply the Silvadene. During this time we kept the snakes on newspaper. This stuff worked exceptionally well and also is not only effective against bacteria but fungus/mold as well such as turtles' shells (at least from our experience).

>>Rob,
>>
>>A site I found for Silvadene indicated that the cream is effective against bacteria, if you debride the wound....did you try this with your snakes?
>>
>>I know of other zoos that have taken their Lachesis off display because of feeding/stress concerns. Some zoos actually cover the glass with colored cellaphane(sp?) plastic and leave just a clear viewing strip for visitors to peer through.
>>
>>Matt
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Rob Carmichael, Curator
The Wildlife Discovery Center at Elawa Farm
Lake Forest, IL

Rob,
The zoo I work for has never had Bushmasters.

At one time, I housed 17 of them.(private collection). I know what you mean about displaying them though. They LOVE cover, cage furniture etc.., But I have seen them displayed openly at Dallas, New Orleans, Lufkin, and San Antonio Zoo's without any problem. And they did just fine. Probably the most sparse exhibit was at Audubon.

Perhaps your temps/lighting is different on your "off" display holding?

Randallllllllllllllllll

Thanks Randal, I did double check the temps from our exhibit and off exhibit areas and they are nearly identical. The primary difference is one of lighting; no lighting is used in our off display area and they seem to enjoy a much more subdued light environment. I am contemplating going with a very low diffuse type of fluorescent and see what happens.

>>Rob,
>>The zoo I work for has never had Bushmasters.
>>
>>At one time, I housed 17 of them.(private collection). I know what you mean about displaying them though. They LOVE cover, cage furniture etc.., But I have seen them displayed openly at Dallas, New Orleans, Lufkin, and San Antonio Zoo's without any problem. And they did just fine. Probably the most sparse exhibit was at Audubon.
>>
>>Perhaps your temps/lighting is different on your "off" display holding?
>>
>>
>>Randallllllllllllllllll
-----
Rob Carmichael, Curator
The Wildlife Discovery Center at Elawa Farm
Lake Forest, IL

Rob,
I used 4' florsecent (sp) lights, that I intially took outside and spray-painted them with blue paint! LOL!
This was before I learned you could buy "colored plastic tubes" available in red or blue, that slip over the bulbs, thus creating a "nocturnal" effect.
They seem to like it and will come out of hiding more often than not.
I also reversed my lighting schedule.
I had normal bright lites come on at "our" nite time, and had the blue, or nocturnal lites come on in the daytime.
As you know, a lot of zoo's do this when displaying nocturnal animals, such as Sugargliders, Owl monkeys,, Sloths, etc.

Randal

Thanks Randal, I haven't seen the "slips" so I'll see what I can find. If we had a typical zoo exhibit where there are few exterior windows so that the viewing galleries can stay dark while the cages are lit, I would go that route, however, we have so many windows in our facility that even with shades, it is so bright that I don't think I could trick our bushmaster.

Thanks, Rob

>>Rob,
>>I used 4' florsecent (sp) lights, that I intially took outside and spray-painted them with blue paint! LOL!
>>This was before I learned you could buy "colored plastic tubes" available in red or blue, that slip over the bulbs, thus creating a "nocturnal" effect.
>>They seem to like it and will come out of hiding more often than not.
>>I also reversed my lighting schedule.
>>I had normal bright lites come on at "our" nite time, and had the blue, or nocturnal lites come on in the daytime.
>>As you know, a lot of zoo's do this when displaying nocturnal animals, such as Sugargliders, Owl monkeys,, Sloths, etc.
>>
>>Randal
-----
Rob Carmichael, Curator
The Wildlife Discovery Center at Elawa Farm
Lake Forest, IL

Audobon's display was pretty open(typical of primary forest) but if I remember correctly, it was very dimly lit, in contrast to Cincinatti's display, which was brightly lit.

MCH

Looks like I'll be tinkering with the exhibit this week to see what I can do. After giving it some thought, I might be able to do something like covering a good portion of the cage covered with several "peep" holes so that people can view the snake w/out the snake feeling stressed of being on constant public exhibit.

>>Audobon's display was pretty open(typical of primary forest) but if I remember correctly, it was very dimly lit, in contrast to Cincinatti's display, which was brightly lit.
>>
>>MCH
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Rob Carmichael, Curator
The Wildlife Discovery Center at Elawa Farm
Lake Forest, IL

Fantanstic animal Matt....

Best luck with her...

Al
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Confidence is what you feel before you comprehend the situation.

n/t
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Venomous snakes---best hobby on earth!
Bill Huseth

N/t
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Confidence is what you feel before you comprehend the situation.