Licht-im-Terrarium: Literaturdatenbank
Licht-im-Terrarium: Literaturdatenbank |
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Lynch, E. C., Roznik, E. A., Smith, D., Alvey, A., Giammona, F., & Brown, J. L., et al. (2025). The effects of light and novel enrichment on eastern indigo snake (drymarchon couperi) behavior and physiology. Applied Animal Behaviour Science, 106598. Added by: Sarina (2025-03-19 10:26:45) |
| Resource type: Journal Article DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.applanim.2025.106598 ID no. (ISBN etc.): 0168-1591 BibTeX citation key: Lynch2025 View all bibliographic details  |
Categories: Englisch = English Keywords: basking light, environmental enrichment, fluorescent light, glucocorticoids, reptiles, welfare Creators: Allen, Alvey, Barr, Boisseau, Brown, Giammona, Hagen, Lynch, Roznik, Smith, Williams Collection: Applied Animal Behaviour Science |
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Reptiles play an important role in education and conservation goals within the zoological community, yet evidence-based management protocols tailored to this group remain notably scarce. To redress this, a study was designed to assess behavioral and physiological changes to different light and habitat variants among a clutch of 12 juvenile Eastern indigo snakes (Drymarchon couperi) housed at the North Carolina Zoo. A two-by-two factorial experimental design facilitated the exploration of both the independent and interactive effects of two types of lights (basking vs. fluorescent) and enrichment complexity (weekly rotations of novel enrichment objects vs. no addition of novel enrichment objects). We report that as compared to snakes with basking light, those that received fluorescent light were five times more likely to exhibit active behaviors and spend more time under their light source, as well as trending towards gaining more body mass. We also found that, compared to snakes in standard habitats, those with rotating enrichment items were slower to explore a novel environment and maintained a higher variability of fecal glucocorticoid metabolites, which together may indicate higher stress. Our results suggest that the addition of novel enrichment items may not yield welfare advantages while also highlighting the essential role of fluorescent lighting in meeting the physiological requirements of this species.
Added by: Sarina |