Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Both of my western ribbons (wild caught) have small lumps that seem to be directly under the skin. On one it is near the head and on the other it is in the middle of the snake. The scales are also slightly discolored where the bumps are. Do my snakes have worms or some other kind of parasites? They have had the lumps since I caught them several days ago. What should I do?

Cat

It sounds like your snakes have nematodes. They're a parasitic type of worm that are often found in wild amphibians, and some types of feeder fish (especially feeder guppies). I accidently infected some of my plains garters when I gave them guppies that had the worms. I suggest that you take your snakes to a qualified herp vet, so they can receive their shots. I did this for my snakes, and within a week or so, the worms were gone. After they have been treated, I would avoid feeding them any wild frogs or fish. I would also visually inspect any feeder fish before giving it to them. Just to note; I've only seen this problem in feeder guppies, never feeder goldfish. Good luck! Let us know how everything turns out.