I received a gravid female Red-Spotted Garter with the worst case of blister disease I have ever seen in a snake that was not actually dead. I started treating her with little hope of success but to my surprise she stabilized after a few days. I put her in a fan-vented cage with full-spectrum lighting including a UV bulb at the heated end, to encourage her to bask under supplemental UV. She accepted frogs and although frogs are notorious for having parasites it was preferable to have her eat anything under the circumstances. Frogs digest easily and she gained strength but was still a feeble, limp stocking compared to a healthy garter snake. Even after a shed, her blisters were still raw and active but she basked most of the day under her heat light and ate frequently.
Almost immediately after completing a shed, she began another shed and this time her new skin came out healed and healthy. She was still weak and hollow but her head was up and she rested in positions I associate with healthy snakes. Shortly after her second shed, she gave birth to 8 healthy babies, which have already begun accepting worm fragments. Captive concinnus are well-known to accept defrosted rodents--I have a gorgeous male who is a long-term captive, who eats defrosted mice like a rat snake. I expect that with time and work, the babies will accept defrosted rodent parts as well.
The female who recovered from blister disease has now been eating defrosted fuzzy mice and is gaining weight and strength almost daily. She has about two more weeks of quarantine before I consider housing her with anything else but I'm now confident she will survive and has every chance of becoming a robust, vital animal with a long life ahead.
Whew.
