James L. Voss Veterinary Teaching Hospital, Colorado State University, College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, Fort Collins, CO 80523, USA.
Cheyenne Mountain Zoo, Colorado Springs, CO 80906, USA.
J Zoo Wildl Med. 2022 Jun;53(2):266-274. doi: 10.1638/2020-0031.
Environmental enrichment is a strategy used to improve the welfare of animals under human care. While enrichment techniques for mammals and birds have been studied extensively, reptilian enrichment has received less attention. There has been an increase in enrichment programs for reptiles in zoological institutions, however many are not accompanied by behavioral studies. Detailed recording of behavioral responses to enrichment is necessary to assess the efficacy of the enrichment type and to determine its utility in various settings. In this study, 18 snakes of multiple species, from two Families (), were exposed to four enrichment types (Humid Hide, Olfactory, Climbing, Suspended Hide). Baseline recordings were conducted prior to the introduction of enrichment. Snakes were recorded for two hours after introduction of each item. Five behavior types were identified based on baseline videos: tongue flicking, climbing, hiding, interacting with transparent boundaries, and utilizing non-enrichment items. Interacting with transparent boundaries was classified as an undesirable behavior, while the other four behaviors were classified as desirable. Changes in climbing and tongue flicking behaviors were noted with introduction of each item- these changes were not statistically significant. The increase in these behaviors may indicate clinical importance, and shows that snakes under human care respond to environmental enrichment. As some snakes showed a reduction in undesirable behaviors when compared to baseline conditions, this may suggest increased welfare during times when enrichment is offered. The extent to which these results can be applied to other species merits further study.
环境丰容是一种用来提高人类照料下动物福利的策略。虽然哺乳动物和鸟类的丰容技术已经得到了广泛的研究，但爬行动物的丰容却受到了较少的关注。在动物园机构中，针对爬行动物的丰容计划有所增加，但许多计划并没有伴随着行为研究。详细记录对丰容的行为反应对于评估丰容类型的效果以及确定其在各种环境中的实用性是必要的。在这项研究中，18 条来自两个科（）的多种蛇类被暴露于四种丰容类型（潮湿隐藏处、嗅觉刺激、攀爬、悬挂隐藏处）中。在引入丰容之前进行了基线记录。在引入每个物品后，对蛇进行了两小时的记录。根据基线视频确定了五种行为类型：吐舌、攀爬、躲藏、与透明边界互动以及利用非丰容物品。与透明边界的互动被归类为不良行为，而其他四种行为则被归类为可取行为。随着每个物品的引入，观察到攀爬和吐舌行为的变化-这些变化没有统计学意义。这些行为的增加可能表明具有临床重要性，表明在提供环境丰容时，人类照料下的蛇会对其做出反应。与基线条件相比，一些蛇在不良行为方面有所减少，这可能表明在提供丰容时福利有所提高。这些结果在多大程度上适用于其他物种，值得进一步研究。
