Dermatological diseases of snakes and lizards and how to investigate them

Snake and lizard skin is highly adapted to being tough and impervious, reflecting their evolutionary emergence in a more arid lifestyle. These special features include the formation of scales and the need to shed the skin at intervals to permit growth. To the clinician, these adaptations present a different range of diseases compared to those in more ‘routine’ species, most of all, the need for a different approach to their investigation. This article looks at the most common clinical signs of dermatological diseases in snakes and lizards and explains how to investigate based on the differential diagnoses for each sign.