Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I have a couple of snakes (WC) that are kept warm & dry, but just prior to shedding they develop several large fluid or puss pockets just under the skin mostly near the top or side of the neck (sometimes they prefer to fester around one of the eye balls too, causing large swelling). When the skin is finally shed, a lot of fluid is present and at the surface of the (new) skin, between the scales, some very light bleeding appears??? Never seen this before, Any ideas??? Is this a type of blister infection, if so what type of virus/bacteria causes this? (Currently two of my eastern kingsnakes are victims of this, so sorry for posting here, but I know there is a wealth of knowledge on this forum!)
But most importantly, what is the drug of choice for treating this condition? What type of anti-biotics do I need and how much do I administer? Thanks for the help, since I don't have a vet here that specializes in snakes. I have treated & wormed snakes in the past successfully. I basically just need to know how much and how often to administer. I want to make sure the rest of my collection does not get this! I do have a lot of animals to include my awesome Eastern Indigo! Thanks in advance for any help you can provide.
Here's a recent pic of my niece holding my "Pride & Joy" (over five foot, 23 month old male couperi)!

Carsten "Zee" Zoldy

I'm not a vet but there are parasites that burrow under snake's skin, sounds like that may be what you are dealing with.

There are several anti-parasite drugs that work for snakes, panacure is probably the safest.

I can't make a diagnosis, you really should get your snakes checked out by a quailified reptile vet. You could be dealing with any number of parasites, or a fungal or bacterial infection. Your vet may need to take samples and have lab work done in order to find the proper drug.

In the mean time, I would keep them quarantined from the rest of your collection. Work there cages with disposable gloves and LAST, never touch your other snakes after you've touched them. Wash and even change clothes before you touch your other animals.

It's very easy to transfer such disease through water dishes, feeding tongs, etc. So be very vey cautious.

That's a gorgeous indigo, I'd hate to see it get this!

As Dean indicated, making an online diagnosis from a written descriptive can be impossible.
While a dermal paasite could be the culprit, your description is also indicative of a Staphylococcus spp. infection, not to scare anyone, but this can be serious, as there has been a great increase in such infections among reptiles and many have proven to be very resistant to traditional antibiotics, not to mention, highly contagious.
I received a P. d deppei, from a reputable dealer, with such an infection. After several months of unsuccessfully trying to treat the infection, I decided to cull the specimen.
Your snake may very well have a dermal parasite, but for your own peace of mind and the health of your snake, you really should have the snake examined by a qualified veterinarian for an accurate diagnosis...

Best regards,

Jeff Snodgres
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Jeff Snodgres
University of Arkansas
snodgresjeffreys@uams.edu
501.603.1947

Thanks for the info! I will check this out and take all precautions. Hopefully I can nip this in the butt before it gets out of control! I am suspecting some type of skin blister disease, but maybe due to parasites. . .

Zee

Thanks a lot for the info, Dean! I DO appreciate your advice. I am thinking that this is just another form of blister disease and I will go ahead and treat it! I was just making sure, since I had blister disease many years ago, but the symptoms always attacked the belly scales only (this is due to ROOKIE snake keeping!) Once again, THANKS and thanks for the compliment!

Zee