The fungal disease that has decimated wild populations of venomous and non-venomous snakes across the midwestern and eastern United States has been formally identified as Ophidiomyces ophiodiicola. While it had been speculated that O. ophidiodiicola was the cause, it now has been confirmed. The first confirmed instance of the disease appeared in a captive rat snake.
The following snakes are confirmed to have been exposed to the disease: northern water snake (Nerodia sipedon), eastern racer (Coluber constrictor), rat snake (Pantherophis obsoletus species complex), timber rattlesnake (Crotalus horridus), massasauga (Sistrurus catenatus), pygmy rattlesnake (Sistrurus miliarius), and milk snake (Lampropeltis triangulum). Jeffrey Lorch, a U.S. Geological Survey National Wildlife Health Center scientist and the lead author of the study, stated: ‘The loss of certain snake species in eastern North America could have widespread negative impacts on ecosystems. Pinpointing the SFD-causing fungus can help conserve snake populations threatened by this disease.’ In the lab, USGS scientists infected eight healthy captive bred corn snakes with the disease. Within just a few days of exposure, the snakes developed a swelling of the body and lesions identical to those found on wild snakes. The snakes shed their skins 15-20 days after exposure, but the disease caused abnormal behaviors, including staying in open areas of their cages for long periods and refusing to feed. Lorch added: ‘These behaviors are uncharacteristic of healthy snakes and demonstrate how SFD can put snakes at risk in the wild. Climate change could promote growth of O. ophidiodiicola and hinder recovery from SFD because snake immunity is highly dependent on environmental conditions.’
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