Detection of Snake Fungal Disease from a Lampropeltis triangulum (Eastern Milksnake) in Northern Michigan

• Published in: Northeastern naturalist Vol. 23; no. 3; pp. N18 - N21
• Main Authors: Ravesi, Michael J, Tetzlaff, Sasha J, Allender, Matthew C, Kingsbury, Bruce A
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Steuben Humboldt Field Research Institute 2016; Eagle Hill Institute; Northeastern Naturalist
• Subjects: Population; Skin; Snakes; North America; Michigan
• ISSN: 1092-6194; 1938-5307
• DOI: 10.1656/045.023.0310

An alarming number of cases of Snake Fungal Disease (SFD), a condition frequently resulting in morbidity and mortality in snakes, have been documented in numerous species across much of the eastern US. We sampled a skin lesion on the face of a free-ranging Lampropeltis triangulum (Eastern Milksnake) from the northern Lower Peninsula of Michigan. The lesion tested positive for Ophidiomyces ophiodiicola, the causative agent of SFD. Our results document the second species from Michigan known to be infected with SFD. This case adds to the growing body of literature detailing the distribution of snake species affected, and further indicates that this pathogen is widespread in the eastern US. We stress the continued need for increased, systematic sampling efforts to determine the species affected by SFD and the potentially deleterious impacts it has on snake populations.