| molecular identification of cryptosporidium species from pet snakes in thailand. | cryptosporidium is an important pathogen causing gastrointestinal disease in snakes and is distributed worldwide. the main objectives of this study were to detect and identify cryptosporidium species in captive snakes from exotic pet shops and snake farms in thailand. in total, 165 fecal samples were examined from 8 snake species, boa constrictor (boa constrictor constrictor), corn snake (elaphe guttata), ball python (python regius), milk snake (lampropeltis triangulum), king snake (lampropeltis ... | 2016 | 27658593 |
| innate defensive behaviour and panic-like reactions evoked by rodents during aggressive encounters with brazilian constrictor snakes in a complex labyrinth: behavioural validation of a new model to study affective and agonistic reactions in a prey versus predator paradigm. | defensive behaviour has been extensively studied, and non-invasive methodologies may be interesting approaches to analyzing the limbic system function as a whole. using experimental models of animals in the state of anxiety has been fundamental in the search for new anxiolytic and antipanic compounds. the aim of this present work is to examine a new model for the study of affective behaviour, using a complex labyrinth consisting of an arena and galleries forming a maze. furthermore, it aims to c ... | 2007 | 17604117 |
| protein catabolism in pregnant snakes (epicrates cenchria maurus boidae) compromises musculature and performance after reproduction. | in many species the high energetic demands of reproduction induce a negative energy balance, and thus females must rely on tissue catabolism to complete the reproductive process. previous works have shown that both fat and protein are energy resources during prolonged fasting in vertebrates. while many ecological studies on energy costs of reproduction have focused on variations in fat stores, the impact of protein investment on the female has not been thoroughly investigated. notably, as there ... | 2004 | 15088116 |
| species delimitation in the continental forms of the genus epicrates (serpentes, boidae) integrating phylogenetics and environmental niche models. | until recently, the genus epicrates (boidae) presented only one continental species, epicrates cenchria, distributed in central and south america, but after a taxonomic revision using morphologic characters five species were recognized: e. cenchria, e. crassus, e. maurus, e. assisi, and e. alvarezi. we analyzed two independent data sets, environmental niche models and phylogeny based on molecular information, to explore species delimitation in the continental species of this genus. our results i ... | 2011 | 21912634 |
| anti-aversive effects of cannabidiol on innate fear-induced behaviors evoked by an ethological model of panic attacks based on a prey vs the wild snake epicrates cenchria crassus confrontation paradigm. | several pharmacological targets have been proposed as modulators of panic-like reactions. however, interest should be given to other potential therapeutic neurochemical agents. recent attention has been given to the potential anxiolytic properties of cannabidiol, because of its complex actions on the endocannabinoid system together with its effects on other neurotransmitter systems. the aim of this study was to investigate the effects of cannabidiol on innate fear-related behaviors evoked by a p ... | 2012 | 21918503 |
| presence of porocephalus clavatus (arthropoda: porocephalidae) in peruvian boidae snakes. | the pentastome species, porocephalus clavatus, has been found to infect the lungs of two species of snakes in the family boidae family (boa constrictor and epicrates cenchria). the individual of b. constrictor was collected in the amazonian rainforest of departamento loreto, peru. the e. cenchria was recovered from the pet trade in lima, peru's capital city. a total of 22 p. clavatus were collected and examined from these two snakes. this is the first report of p. clavatus in peru. the morpholog ... | 2011 | 21531511 |
| the role of 5-ht1a receptors in the anti-aversive effects of cannabidiol on panic attack-like behaviors evoked in the presence of the wild snake epicrates cenchria crassus (reptilia, boidae). | the potential anxiolytic and antipanic properties of cannabidiol have been shown; however, its mechanism of action seems to recruit other receptors than those involved in the endocannabinoid-mediated system. it was recently shown that the model of panic-like behaviors elicited by the encounters between mice and snakes is a good tool to investigate innate fear-related responses, and cannabidiol causes a panicolytic-like effect in this model. the aim of the present study was to investigate the 5-h ... | 2013 | 23926240 |
| epidermis architecture and material properties of the skin of four snake species. | on the basis of structural and experimental data, it was previously demonstrated that the snake integument consists of a hard, robust, inflexible outer surface (oberhäutchen and β-layer) and softer, flexible inner layers (α-layers). it is not clear whether this phenomenon is a general adaptation of snakes to limbless locomotion or only to specific conditions, such as habitat and locomotion. the aim of the present study was to compare the structure and material properties of the outer scale layer ... | 2012 | 22896567 |
| ultrastructure and wear patterns of the ventral epidermis of four snake species (squamata, serpentes). | snakes are limbless tetrapods highly specialized for sliding locomotion. this locomotion leads to the skin being exposed to friction loads, especially on the ventral body side, which leads to wear. it is presumed that snakes therefore have specific optimizations for minimizing abrasion. scales from snakes with habitat, locomotor and/or behavior specializations have specific gradients in material properties that may be due to different epidermal architecture. to approach this issue we examined th ... | 2014 | 25169958 |
| scratch resistance of the ventral skin surface in four snake species (squamata, serpentes). | snakes are limbless tetrapods highly specialized for sliding locomotion on various substrates. their skin is constantly exposed to high friction forces, which promotes abrasion. snake skin has material and surface specializations, presumably optimized for friction and abrasion resistance. we found that different snake species living in different habitats have different abrasion patterns and hypothesized that this correlates with specific epidermal architecture and surface topography. to test thi ... | 2016 | 26874374 |
| anandamide in the anterior hypothalamus diminishes defensive responses elicited in mice threatened by epicrates cenchria constrictor serpents. | the purpose of this study was to investigate whether the panicolytic‑like effect of different doses of anandamide microinjected into the anterior hypothalamus (ah) follows the same pattern of a bell‑shaped dose‑response curve observed with the same dose treatment in dorsomedial and ventromedial hypothalamus. we investigated this assumption by administering the cannabinoid and vanilloid receptor agonist anandamide into the anterior hypothalamus of mice and exposing them to the real threatening si ... | 2020 | 32602858 |
| opposing roles of dorsomedial hypothalamic cb1 and trpv1 receptors in anandamide signaling during the panic-like response elicited in mice by brazilian rainbow boidae snakes. | the endocannabinoid system plays an important role in the organization of panic-like defensive behavior. threatening situations stimulate brain areas, such as the dorsomedial hypothalamus (dmh). however, there is a lack of studies addressing the role of the dmh endocannabinoid system in panic-like responses. | 2019 | 30694375 |
| detection and prevalence of boid inclusion body disease in collections of boas and pythons using immunological assays. | inclusion body disease (ibd) of boas and pythons is characterized by the intracytoplasmic accumulation of an antigenic 68 kda viral protein ibdp, more recently known as the nucleoprotein (np) of the reptarenaviruses. blood samples of 131 captive boas and pythons (53 boa constrictors, boa constrictor; 35 rainbow boas, epicrates cenchria; 22 ball pythons, python regius; 5 carpet pythons, morelia spilota; 6 burmese pythons, python bivittatus; 4 jamaican boas, epicrates subflavus; 5 anacondas, eunec ... | 2016 | 27938703 |
| is the karyotype of neotropical boid snakes really conserved? cytotaxonomy, chromosomal rearrangements and karyotype organization in the boidae family. | boids are primitive snakes from a basal lineage that is widely distributed in neotropical region. many of these species are both morphologically and biogeographically divergent, and the relationship among some species remains uncertain even with evolutionary and phylogenetic studies being proposed for the group. for a better understanding of the evolutionary relationship between these snakes, we cytogenetically analysed 7 species and 3 subspecies of neotropical snakes from the boidae family usin ... | 2016 | 27494409 |
| repeated exposure of naïve and peripheral nerve-injured mice to a snake as an experimental model of post-traumatic stress disorder and its co-morbidity with neuropathic pain. | confrontation of rodents by natural predators provides a number of advantages as a model for traumatic or stressful experience. using this approach, one of the aims of this study was to investigate a model for the study of post-traumatic stress disorder (ptsd)-related behaviour in mice. moreover, because ptsd can facilitate the establishment of chronic pain (cp), and in the same way, patients with cp have an increased tendency to develop ptsd when exposed to a traumatic event, our second aim was ... | 2020 | 32474017 |
| computed tomography of the lung of healthy snakes of the species python regius, boa constrictor, python reticulatus, morelia viridis, epicrates cenchria, and morelia spilota. | thirty-nine healthy boid snakes representing six different species (python regius, boa constrictor, python reticulatus, morelia viridis, epicrates cenchria, and morelia spilota) were examined using computed tomography (ct) to characterize the normal appearance of the respiratory tissue. assessment was done subjectively and densitometry was performed using a defined protocol. the length of the right lung was calculated to be 11.1% of the body length, without a significant difference between speci ... | 2016 | 19788032 |
| parthenogenesis in a brazilian rainbow boa (epicrates cenchria cenchria). | a 22-year-old captive brazilian rainbow boa (epicrates cenchria cenchria) gave birth to four offspring after being housed with a vasectomized male. sexual reproduction as a result of failed prior vasectomy, recanalization of the vas deferens, or prolonged sperm storage was ruled out using the clinical history, histopathology, and gross necropsy. short tandem repeat (str) dna markers were genotyped in the male, female, and four offspring. none of the offspring possessed a diagnostic str allele pr ... | 2013 | 23086743 |