Weldon P J, Divita F M, Middendorf G A
Dept. of Biology, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX 77843 USA.
Dept. of Zoology, Howard University, Washington, DC 20059 USA.
Behav Processes. 1987 Apr;14(2):137-46. doi: 10.1016/0376-6357(87)90040-4.
Male and female laboratory mice (Mus musculus ; Harlan Sprague Dawley) were tested for reactions to snake odors. In the first experiment, mice were presented with untreated paper on the floor of one side of a test tank and snake-scented or control (water misted) paper on the other side. The scented papers were obtained from rough earth snakes (Virginia striatula ), which were fed earthworms, and a rat snake (Elaphe obsoleta ), which ate mice. Male mice exhibited no differences in response to the three conditions. Female mice showed no response to the control or earth snake odor, but they deposited significantly more fecal boli on the side of the tank with the rat snake odor than on the blank side. No significant differences in other behaviors, e.g. ambulation, were detected. In the second experiment, female mice were offered food pellets treated with the shed skin extract of the rat snake or with a solvent alone. Less material was bit off and consumed from the snake-scented pellets. The results of both experiments indicate that female mice detect the odors of rat snakes.
对雄性和雌性实验小鼠（小家鼠；哈兰·斯普拉格·道利品系）进行了对蛇气味反应的测试。在第一个实验中，在测试箱一侧的地板上放置未处理的纸张，另一侧放置有蛇气味或对照（喷水）的纸张。有气味的纸张取自以蚯蚓为食的粗土蛇（细纹沙蟒）和以小鼠为食的鼠蛇（食鼠蛇）。雄性小鼠在三种条件下的反应没有差异。雌性小鼠对对照或土蛇气味没有反应，但它们在有鼠蛇气味的水箱一侧排出的粪便颗粒明显多于空白一侧。未检测到其他行为（如走动）的显著差异。在第二个实验中，给雌性小鼠提供用鼠蛇蜕皮提取物或仅用溶剂处理过的食物颗粒。从有蛇气味的颗粒上咬下并吃掉的物质较少。两个实验的结果都表明雌性小鼠能检测到鼠蛇的气味。
