Western Hognose Snakes (Heterodon nasicus) Prefer Environmental Enrichment
Open accessAbstract
The environmental enrichment needs of snakes are often disregarded. Using preference testing, we aimed to shed light on the enrichment preferences of a popular pet species, the western hognose snake (Heterodon nasicus). Snakes’ enclosures were divided into enriched and standard sides. The enriched half had substrate for burrowing, interactive stimuli, and a large water dish. The standard half had paper towel substrate and a small water dish. Each side also contained a single shelter. We provided belly heat to create a thermal gradient on one side of the cage. Snakes were observed for 6 days, four times daily. We predicted a preference for enriched conditions and, as snakes are ectothermic, a preference for the warmer side. Snakes were additionally given an exploration assay, to explore whether differences in preference for environmental enrichment interact with boldness levels. We found that hognose snakes preferred enrichment, and the strength of this preference increased over time. Preference for enrichment was stronger when the enriched side was cooler. This may be due to the burrowing tendencies of these snakes. We found no relationship between preference and boldness. These findings emphasise the importance of preference testing in establishing research-informed enrichment opportunities for reptiles.
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Social enrichment is necessary for health and well-being in mammals, and there is growing awareness of its importance to reptiles and amphibians.
“Social enrichment is widely understood to be necessary for health and well-being in mammals, and there is a growing awareness of its importance to reptiles and amphibians [67,68].”
From The social origins of consciousness (2025) · cites this paper as [67]
The Introduction (page unavailable) says environmental enrichment has documented benefits in mammals and that evidence of benefits in reptiles is growing. It defines enrichment as potentially including conspecifics, but does not establish that social enrichment is necessary for mammalian health and well-being or discuss its importance to amphibians. (LLM, conf=0.85)
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- Authors
- Nagabaskaran, G., Skinner, M., & Miller, N.
- Affiliations
- Wilfrid Laurier University (CA)
- Corresponding author
- Nagabaskaran, Gokulan
- Venue
- Animals
- Publisher
- MDPI AG
- Published
- 2022-11-29
- Volume
- 12
- Issue
- 23
- Pages
- 3347
- ISSN
- 2076-2615 (ISSN-L)
- PMC
- PMC9739432
- OpenAlex
- W4310375419
- Cited by
- 8
- References
- 37
- Citations by year
- 2026: 1 · 2025: 7
- FWCI
- 1.94
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- gold
- doi.org
- Licence
- Locations
- Animals (publishedVersion, cc-by)
- PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals) (submittedVersion, cc-by-sa)
- OSF Preprints (OSF Preprints) (submittedVersion)
- Funders
- National Science and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) (RGPIN-2016-06138)
- Topics
- Health Sciences › Veterinary › Small Animals › Animal Behavior and Welfare Studies
- Physical Sciences › Environmental Science › Global and Planetary Change › Amphibian and Reptile Biology
- Life Sciences › Agricultural and Biological Sciences › Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics › Animal Behavior and Reproduction
- Keywords
- Heterodon nasicus, environmental enrichment, temperature gradient, boldness, exploratory behavior, reptile welfare, preference test
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