IDNR Report

An emerging fungal disease lethal to some snakes has been found in Indiana.

Snake fungal disease, caused by the fungus, Ophidiomyces ophiodiicola, is not a risk to people, but in snakes it can cause facial swelling, disfigurement, skin and scale lesions, internal lesions and death.

A team of researchers led by Matt Allender and Sarah Baker of the University of Illinois discovered the disease in southern Indiana woodlots during a 2017 surveillance.

Researchers swabbed the skin of 53 snakes from Indiana and identified the fungus in 13 of them. Two of the 13 had visible lesions. Species that tested positive included Northern watersnake, racer, milk snake and queen snake.

Sampling has occurred in 10 Indiana counties and will resume this year.

The fungus is an emerging pathogen identified in many diverse species of captive and free-ranging snakes in more than 20 states so far. It can persist in the soil. How the disease spreads is unknown, but it may occur through contact with soil, other infected snakes, or from mother to offspring.

Snake fungal disease may cause high mortality rates in Eastern massasauga rattlesnakes, a federally threatened and state-endangered species that lives in scattered locations in northern Indiana. The potential long-term effect on massasauga and other snake populations remains uncertain.

Learn more about snake fungal disease at www.wildlife.IN.gov/9704.htm.