11 papers · ranked by Valyu relevance
Tina Hollandt, Markus Baur, Caroline Wöhr
Considering animal welfare, animals should be kept in animal-appropriate and stress-free housing conditions in all circumstances. To assure such conditions, not only basic needs must be met, but also possibilities must be provided that allow animals in captive care to express all species-typical behaviors. Rack housing…
Dakota R. Hunt, Holly Allen, Thomas G. Martin, Sophia N. Feghali + 2 more
The study of nontraditional model organisms, particularly those exhibiting extreme phenotypes, offers unique insights into adaptive mechanisms of stress response and survival. Snakes, with their remarkable physiological, metabolic, and morphological adaptations, serve as powerful models for investigating these…
Lynn J. Miller, David P. Fetterer, Nicole L. Lackemeyer, Matthew G. Lackemeyer + 11 more
Laboratory animals are commonly anesthetized to prevent pain and distress and to provide safe handling. Anesthesia procedures are well-developed for common laboratory mammals, but not as well established in reptiles. We assessed the performance of intramuscularly injected tiletamine (dissociative anesthetic) and…
J. Matthias Starck, Fabian Schrenk, Sofia Schröder, Michael Pees
Spider morph ball pythons are a frequently bred design morph with striking alterations of the skin color pattern. We created high resolution µCT-image series through the otical region of the skulls, used 3D-reconstruction software for rendering anatomical models, and compare the anatomy of the semicircular ducts…
Fabian Schrenk, Matthias Starck, Ingmar Kiefer, Thomas Flegel + 2 more
There is general awareness of artificial selection and its potential implications on health and welfare of animals. Despite growing popularity and increasing numbers of breeds of atypical colour and pattern variants in reptiles, only few studies have investigated the appearance and cause of various diseases associated…
Alan Garcia-Elfring, Heather L. Roffey, Jaren M. Abergas, Andrew P. Hendry + 1 more
Pterin pigments are responsible for many of the bright colours observed across the animal kingdom. However, unlike melanin, the genetics of pterin-based pigmentation has received relatively little attention in animal colouration studies. Here, we investigate a lineage of axanthic ball pythons (Python regius) found in…
Uyen M. Dao, Izabella Lederer, Ray L. Tabor, Basmah Shahid + 2 more
Color patterns in non-avian reptiles are beautifully diverse, but little is known about the genetics and development of these patterns. Here we investigated color patterning in pet ball pythons (Python regius), which have been bred to show color phenotypes that differ dramatically from the wildtype form. We report that…
Autumn R. Brown, Kaylee Comai, Dominic Mannino, Haily McCullough + 4 more
Color morphs in ball pythons (Python regius) provide a unique and largely untapped resource for understanding the genetics of coloration in reptiles. Here we use a community-science approach to investigate the genetics of three color morphs affecting production of the pigment melanin. These morphs—Albino, Lavender…
Alan Garcia-Elfring, Heather L. Roffey, Andrew P. Hendry, Rowan D. H. Barrett
Captive-bred ball pythons (Python regius) represent a powerful model system for studying the genetic basis of colour variation and Mendelian phenotypes in vertebrates. Although hundreds of Mendelian phenotypes (colour morphs) affecting colouration and patterning have been described for ball pythons, the genes causing…
Eva Dervas, Jussi Hepojoki, Teemu Smura, Barbara Prähauser + 5 more
In recent years nidoviruses have emerged as an important respiratory pathogen of reptiles, affecting especially captive python populations. In pythons, nidovirus infection induces an inflammation of the upper respiratory and alimentary tract which can develop into a severe and often fatal proliferative pneumonia. We…
Sei Higuchi, Courtney Wood, Nicholas V. DiPatrizio, Akira Kawamura + 1 more
Modulation of bile acid (BA) structure is a potential strategy for obesity and metabolic disease treatment. BAs act not only as signaling molecules involved in energy expenditure and glucose homeostasis, but also as regulators of food intake. The structure of BAs, particularly the position of the hydroxyl groups of BAs…