The Use of Operant Conditioning to Enhance the Management and Welfare of Captive Kingsnakes
Snakes have been kept and bred in captivity for decades very successfully, thanks to their ability to breed in minimalistic conditions. The history of published research in the operant conditioning of snakes and their learning capabilities is well evidenced. Many husbandry practices have been founded upon trial and error, with attitudes and husbandry of captive […]
Elevated prolactin levels immediately precede decisions to babysit by male meerkat helpers
Recent studies suggest that decisions to care for the offspring of others in societies of cooperative vertebrates may have a hormonal basis. The crucial question of whether changes in hormone levels immediately precede or merely follow bouts of offspring care, however, remains largely unanswered. Here, we show that in wild groups of cooperatively breeding meerkats, […]