SREL Reprint #2557

Design and construction of an outdoor enclosure for the study of snake thermal ecology

John R. Lee and Mark S. Mills

Savannah River Ecology Laboratory, Drawer E, Aiken, South Carolina 29802, USA

Introduction: In this article, we describe the construction of an enclosure specifically designed to study the thermal ecology of snakes. Though previous studies have used enclosures to examine ophidian thermoregulation (Dill 1972; Hammerson 1977, 1979, 1987, 1989; Johnson 1973; McGinnis and Moore 1969; Moore 1978; Osgood 1970; St. Girons 1975), few collected appropriate data to adequately address the effects of environmental variation on the behavior and consequent body temperature (Tb) variation of the animals (Charland 1995; Charland and Gregory 1990). To do so requires data on the limits of potential Tb's as set by the thermal environment, the actual Tb's of the animals, and their behaviors (Peterson et al. 1993; Stevenson 1985). The enclosure should ideally be large enough to offer a wide range of microhabitats and and thermal environments. Our enclosure was designed so the Tb's of multiple animals, their thermal environments, and their behaviors could be monitored on a broader scale than that of previous studies. . . .

SREL Reprint #2557

Lee, J. R., and M. S. Mills. 2000. Design and construction of an outdoor enclosure for the study of snake thermal ecology. Herpetological Review 31:24-26.

This information was provided by the University of Georgia's Savannah River Ecology Laboratory (srel.uga.edu).