Deadly fungi are harming Australia’s wild reptiles. This is how to stop the spread

A red-bellied black snake Patrick Champagne With spring underway and the weather warming, reptiles are on the move in suburbs, parks and bushland across Australia.

Snake catchers and wildlife carers are responding to calls for help, and reptile enthusiasts – known as “ herpers ” – are heading outdoors in search of their next sighting.

Australia is rich in reptiles, with many of them found nowhere else .

But our diverse species face increasing threats from fungal diseases.

Imagine you call a snake catcher to take a carpet python out of your roof, and they later attend another call-out across town.

The same equipment they used at your home could potentially carry fungal pathogens from one encounter to the next, moving disease between animals and places.

In our new research , we explore how people handling reptiles may unknowingly spread fungal diseases, and what they can do to reduce this happening.

The fixes are simple, inexpensive and easy to use in the field.

Diseases already affecting our wildlife Several fungal pathogens are now known to infect wild Australian reptiles , including Ophidiomyces ophidiicola , the cause of snake fungal disease, and Nannizziopsis barbatae , which affects eastern water dragons and carpet pythons .

These infections can cause severe skin disease, disrupt shedding – where a snake discards its outer layer of skin to allow for growth – and leave animals weak and emaciated.

In many cases they can be fatal .

Overseas, snake fungal disease has been linked to a fall in wild snake populations .

We know relatively little about which Australian reptile species are the most vulnerable, making prevention especially important.

Since these diseases were found in captive Australian reptiles in the past, the pet trade is a likely source of introduction into wild populations.