Maintaining rear-fanged snakes for venom production: an evaluation of mortality and survival rates for Philodryas olfersii and P. patagoniensis in captivity

Abstract

This study evaluates the mortality and average survival rates of captive female Philodryas olfersii and Philodryas patagoniensis snakes maintained for venom production. Also, two factors likely to reduce captive survival were studied -body condition at admission and seasonality. Mortality peaks occurred during the second month in captivity. More than half the individuals were dead at the end of the third month. This suggests that the first three months in captivity are the most critical in terms of survival and adaptation. Females collected and admitted during spring and summer lived less time than those collected in autumn and winter. As gravidity and egg-laying occur during spring and summer, we suggest that the lower survival rates in these seasons may be due to high costs and stress involved in these reproductive events. Unexpectedly, body mass and body condition were poor predictors of survival in captivity. Our results have important implications in maintaining snakes for venom production. We propose some prophylactic measures to minimize the deleterious impacts of captivity during the adaptation period.

Gross and histologic features of gastritis due to Ophidascaris arndti in tropical rattlesnakes ( Crotalus durissus )

“…Lesions caused by other Ophidascaris species in snakes are usually characterized as necroulcerative gastroenteritis (Elbihari and Hussein, 1973;Brar et al, 1990;Wilson andCarpenter, 1996, Anderson, 2000), in concordance with the changes observed in this study, in which prominent gross and microscopic alterations were detected in stomachs of the snakes since fixation of worms produced a direct damage to the gastric mucosa.…”

“…Some authors describe the 'pooradaptation syndrome' related to captivity as the most important cause of mortality in snakes in the first year of breeding (Braz et al, 2012). This is an important feature considering that snakes develop remarkable susceptibility to pathogenic agents during this period.…”

“…Morphometric analysis was performed and results were compared with previous descriptions of the species in order allow its characterization. Morphologically, specimens collected were identified as Ophidascaris arndti considering the presence of mouth with three square lips, interlabia present, claviform esophagus, esophageal ventriculus and intestinal cecum absent, two uterine branches, vulva more or less in the middle of the body, gubernaculum absent, equal or subequal and long spicules, 36 pairs (medium) of pre-cloacal papillae, one pair of adcloacal and four to six pairs of post-cloacal papillae (Freitas, 1968;Pinto et al, 2010).…”

Life expectancy and longevity of varanid lizards (Reptilia:Squamata:Varanidae) in North American zoos

“…In zoos and other captive situations, these parameters can be useful for gauging the success of captive management programs, assessing animal welfare, and identifying areas of husbandry that may be in need of improvement [Broom, ; Wiese and Willis, ; Müller et al, , ,]. While life expectancy and longevity have been used to assess the suitability of husbandry practices afforded to mammals in zoos [Wiese and Willis, ; Müller et al, ; 2011a,b], published studies of this nature have rarely focused on captive reptiles [Braz et al, ]. This may be surprising, considering that abundant data which can be used in a similar light are available through multiple sources.…”

Parasitic Fauna of Captive Snakes (Serpentes, Colubridae) from Northeastern Argentina

“…Many colubrids are technically considered venomous, but few are dangerous to humans (Weinstein et al, 2013). Considering that relatively few studies have characterized their venoms (Junqueira-de-Azevedo et al, 2016), some colubrid species are kept in captivity for obtaining venom for research purposes (Braz et al, 2012).…”