Diagnosis, treatment and post‐release monitoring of an eastern black rat snake (Pantherophis alleghaniensis) with ophidiomycosis and traumatic injuries

Abstract

Ophidiomycosis, historically known as snake fungal disease, is caused by Ophidiomyces ophiodiicola and has been reported in over 30 species of snakes. In July 2015, an adult female eastern black rat snake (Pantherophis alleghaniensis) was found at Prairie Ridge EcoStation, a North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences (NCMNS) field site in Raleigh, NC, with traumatic lesions consistent with injuries caused by landscaping equipment. The snake was brought to NCMNS Veterinary Services and tested positive via dermal swabs for O ophiodiicola on quantitative PCR (qPCR). The snake was treated with terbinafine (Terbinafine, 250 mg; InvaGen Pharmaceuticals, Hauppauge, NY, USA) nebulised at 2 mg/ml for 30 min every 24 hours for 30 days, and tested negative on further swabs for O ophiodiicola on qPCR before release. From April 2016 to November 2018, the snake was tracked via radio telemetry with physical examinations, bloodwork and qPCR swabs conducted multiple times a year.

Controlled Clinical Trial Using Terbinafine Nebulization to Treat Wild Lake Erie Watersnakes (Nerodia Sipedon Insularum) With Ophidiomycosis

“…1,19,50 Like the anecdotal reports of apparently successful treatment of ophidiomycosis in snakes, these examples provide little information about the success rate of fungal treatment in reptile species, making it difficult to compare them to the results of the current study. 8,23,52 Large-scale pharmacodynamics studies of antifungal treatment in reptiles are virtually absent from the literature and are critically needed to understand prognosis and optimize treatment protocols in these animals.…”

“…25 Terbinafine nebulization has been used to treat ophidiomycosis in a brown watersnake (Nerodia taxispilota), a timber rattlesnake (Crotalus horridus), and a black rat snake (Pantherophis obsoletus), with some success, but this approach has not been validated through a controlled clinical trial or a pharmacokinetic study in animals with natural disease. 8,23,52 The goal of this study was to investigate the efficacy of terbinafine nebulization as a potential treatment for ophidiomycosis. We hypothesized that nebulization with terbinafine would result in (1) clinical and molecular resolution of disease and (2) plasma levels above the MIC for O. ophidiicola in wild Lake Erie watersnakes (Nerodia sipedon insularum, LEWS) with natural ophidiomycosis.…”

“…25 Terbinafine nebulization has been used to treat ophidiomycosis in a brown watersnake ( Nerodia taxispilota ), a timber rattlesnake ( Crotalus horridus ), and a black rat snake ( Pantherophis obsoletus ), with some success, but this approach has not been validated through a controlled clinical trial or a pharmacokinetic study in animals with natural disease. 8,23,52…”

Incidents of snake fungal disease caused by the fungal pathogen Ophidiomyces ophidiicola in Texas

“…We swabbed the head of the snake five or more times and down their ventral and lateral side. We did this using one swab for the head and one for the body ( Veilleux et al., 2020 ). Any lesions that were found on the snake were photographed and individually swabbed.…”

Snake Fungal Disease Caused by the Fungal Pathogen Ophidiomyces ophidiicola in Texas

“…We would run the swab over the head of the snake five or more times and down their ventral and lateral side five times or more. We did this using one swab for the head and one for the body (Veilleux et al 2020). Any lesions that were found on the snake were photographed and were individually swabbed.…”