Edwardsiella tarda Associated Subcutaneous Abscesses in A Captive Grass Snake (Natrix natrix, Squamata: Colubridae)

Summary Edwardsiella tarda is an opportunistic pathogen associated with aquatic environments. It has been identified as part of the normal flora of the digestive tract of healthy crocodiles, alligators, turtles, lizards and snakes. However, data on its association with different clinical diseases in reptiles, especially in snakes, is scarce. A female grass snake (Natrix natrix) was presented with low body condition and with multiple subcutaneous nodules. After surgical cleaning of a nodule, E. tarda was cultivated in pure culture from the abscesses. To the author’s best knowledge, this is the first reported clinical case linked to E. tarda in snakes and one of the first case reports in grass snake.