Always watch the videos and pretend to code a couple times before starting:
- I normally use a square or rectangular shaped arena with a large enough area that forces the snake to explore
- The snakes tend to move along the walls, this is called thigmotaxis therefore try to use lighting and cameras that can capture the walls. Shadow and glare issues are common so test out the arena prior to using and make sure that visibility is clear in those areas.
- I use 1 hour durations with hognose snakes for overkill but Chiszar has shown habituation in gartersnakes using tongue flick rates in 20min. I have personally seen corn snakes habituate as well using 5 trials of 10mins each all within a single day.
- Behavioural variables to code for:
1. Tongue flick rate = this is a huge interest based cue for snakes, the more tongueflicks/min or seconds means the higher interest. In my own work the tongue flick rate follows a cyclic pattern where there is high bouts of tongue flicks followed by low rates. However in general the tongueflicks tend to decrease over time.
2. Locomotion within an arena = this one is hard b/c snakes have long bodies but in arena habituation its less important since tongue flicks are better indicators. However to find locomotion the best method might be to take every 2nd or 3rd frame and place dots where the head, middle of body and end of tail are.
3. Time spent near wall = This could be a measure of boldness, snakes tend to spend time near walls cause it acts like cover, the more a snake moves away from the wall the bolder it is compared to conspecifics or other snake species.
Al3xandria 