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Background <p>Captive reptiles may experience stress related to environmental conditions, and housing design is considered a key factor influencing their welfare. This study assessed corticosterone concentrations in shed skins as a non-invasive biomarker of chronic stress in three commonly kept snake species—<i>Boa imperator</i>, <i>Python regius</i>, and <i>Pantherophis guttatus</i>—maintained either in low-stimulus rack systems or enriched terraria. Shed skins were collected from privately owned snakes and from a breeders, prepared following standardized protocols, and analyzed using ELISA assays. Non-parametric statistical methods (Mann–Whitney U tests) were applied due to non-normal data distribution.</p> Results <p>Variation in corticosterone concentrations was observed among the studied species, with higher values recorded in P. <i>guttatus</i> compared to <i>B. imperator</i> and <i>P. regius</i>. The effects of housing conditions differed between species. In <i>P. regius</i>, individuals kept in enriched terraria exhibited higher corticosterone concentrations than those housed in rack systems, whereas the opposite pattern was observed in <i>P. guttatus</i>, where snakes maintained in rack systems showed elevated corticosterone levels. No clear housing-related differences were observed in <i>B. imperator</i>. Species-specific relationships between enclosure volume and corticosterone concentration were identified, with positive associations in <i>P. regius</i>, negative associations in P. guttatus, and no apparent relationship in B. imperator.</p> Conclusions <p>The study indicates interspecific variation in corticosterone deposition in snake shed skin and demonstrates that the relationship between housing conditions and corticosterone levels is species-specific. More active species, such as <i>P. guttatus</i>, may be more sensitive to spatial restriction and limited environmental complexity, whereas less active species, such as <i>P. regius</i> and <i>B. imperator</i>, may respond differently to housing conditions. These findings underscore the importance of species-tailored welfare guidelines, suggesting that enclosure design and enrichment strategies should be adapted to the behavioural ecology and physiological characteristics of individual snake species rather than applied uniformly across taxa.</p>

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Species-specific variations in corticosterone concentrations in captive snake shed skins: implications for housing systems and welfare

  • 期刊论文

  • 出版模式：

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  • 发表日期：

    2026年4月24日

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  • Damian Zieliński,
  • Anna Stępniowska,
  • Milena Jaremek

摘要

Background

Captive reptiles may experience stress related to environmental conditions, and housing design is considered a key factor influencing their welfare. This study assessed corticosterone concentrations in shed skins as a non-invasive biomarker of chronic stress in three commonly kept snake species—Boa imperator, Python regius, and Pantherophis guttatus—maintained either in low-stimulus rack systems or enriched terraria. Shed skins were collected from privately owned snakes and from a breeders, prepared following standardized protocols, and analyzed using ELISA assays. Non-parametric statistical methods (Mann–Whitney U tests) were applied due to non-normal data distribution.

Results

Variation in corticosterone concentrations was observed among the studied species, with higher values recorded in P. guttatus compared to B. imperator and P. regius. The effects of housing conditions differed between species. In P. regius, individuals kept in enriched terraria exhibited higher corticosterone concentrations than those housed in rack systems, whereas the opposite pattern was observed in P. guttatus, where snakes maintained in rack systems showed elevated corticosterone levels. No clear housing-related differences were observed in B. imperator. Species-specific relationships between enclosure volume and corticosterone concentration were identified, with positive associations in P. regius, negative associations in P. guttatus, and no apparent relationship in B. imperator.

Conclusions

The study indicates interspecific variation in corticosterone deposition in snake shed skin and demonstrates that the relationship between housing conditions and corticosterone levels is species-specific. More active species, such as P. guttatus, may be more sensitive to spatial restriction and limited environmental complexity, whereas less active species, such as P. regius and B. imperator, may respond differently to housing conditions. These findings underscore the importance of species-tailored welfare guidelines, suggesting that enclosure design and enrichment strategies should be adapted to the behavioural ecology and physiological characteristics of individual snake species rather than applied uniformly across taxa.