Reptile & Amphibian Forums

One of my ribbon snakes has weird bumps on his skin throughout his whole body. They are small and whitish. At first I thought it was because he was about to shed, but that isn't the case. If anyone has any clue as to what they may be, please respond. Thanks.

Do these bumps appear to be just under the skin? If so, they could possibily be nematodes. Nematodes are a parasitic type of worm that are often found in wild amphibians, and sometimes in feeder fish (especially guppies). It's best to take your snake to a qualified herp vet just to make sure.

nematodes??

are they really dangerous? what can they do to snakes? is there anything i can do in the meantime before getting him checked out at a herp vet?

-thanks

I'm not sure what the consequences are if left untreated, but I remember the vet telling me that the worms will lay eggs, and that they could possibily spread to other snakes that are in the same cage. Until you can have your snake checked out by a vet, the only thing that I can suggest is to isolate the snake and visually inspect any feeder fish that you give it. If the fish are infected, you should be able to see the worms just under their skin. Just to note: I never had this problem with feeder goldfish, it was only with feeder guppies.

Increase the salinity in you guppy water before you feed them.........will kill all fresh water nematodes, overnight..........CHRIS' COLUBRIDS

Wouldn't this also kill the fish?

guppies are a brackish water fish.............won't hurt them unless you put in too much salt...............check with your local aquarium for amounts of sea salt to gallons.thanks, chris