Utilization of Natural History Information in Evidence based Herpetoculture: A Proposed Protocol and Case Study with <i>Hydrodynastes gigas</i> (False Water Cobra)
Herpetocultural practices are based on norms driven by economy of space and time for keepers, with little scientific inference backing their practice. In recent years, a subset of herpetoculturalists have promoted evidence-based husbandry that relies on science and experimental design to generate hu...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2020-11-01
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| Series: | Animals |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-2615/10/11/2021 |
| _version_ | 1797548948507852800 |
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| author | Zachary J. Loughman |
| author_facet | Zachary J. Loughman |
| author_sort | Zachary J. Loughman |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Herpetocultural practices are based on norms driven by economy of space and time for keepers, with little scientific inference backing their practice. In recent years, a subset of herpetoculturalists have promoted evidence-based husbandry that relies on science and experimental design to generate husbandry practice. A theoretical framework and protocol are proposed herein that enables any individual who has access to the internet the ability to use various outlets of natural history information (scientific literature databases, social media sources, and weather websites) and previously published husbandry reports as evidence to drive the creation of novel herpetocultural practice. A case study is provided which compares readily available information on the care of <i>Hydrodynastes gigas</i> (false water cobra), such as online care sheets for the species, with the proposed evidence based herpetocultural protocol founded on natural history information and published care and captive breeding reports. Results were assessed for protocol efficacy and determined that the natural history informed evidence-based approach increased animal welfare and generated new information specific to the natural history of <i>H. gigas</i>. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-10T15:08:02Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-6a98bc386685409abe82b364e7facf8b |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2076-2615 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-10T15:08:02Z |
| publishDate | 2020-11-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Animals |
| spelling | doaj.art-6a98bc386685409abe82b364e7facf8b2023-11-20T19:36:37ZengMDPI AGAnimals2076-26152020-11-011011202110.3390/ani10112021Utilization of Natural History Information in Evidence based Herpetoculture: A Proposed Protocol and Case Study with <i>Hydrodynastes gigas</i> (False Water Cobra)Zachary J. Loughman0Zoo Science and Applied Conservation, Department of Biology, West Liberty University, West Liberty, WV 26074, USAHerpetocultural practices are based on norms driven by economy of space and time for keepers, with little scientific inference backing their practice. In recent years, a subset of herpetoculturalists have promoted evidence-based husbandry that relies on science and experimental design to generate husbandry practice. A theoretical framework and protocol are proposed herein that enables any individual who has access to the internet the ability to use various outlets of natural history information (scientific literature databases, social media sources, and weather websites) and previously published husbandry reports as evidence to drive the creation of novel herpetocultural practice. A case study is provided which compares readily available information on the care of <i>Hydrodynastes gigas</i> (false water cobra), such as online care sheets for the species, with the proposed evidence based herpetocultural protocol founded on natural history information and published care and captive breeding reports. Results were assessed for protocol efficacy and determined that the natural history informed evidence-based approach increased animal welfare and generated new information specific to the natural history of <i>H. gigas</i>.https://www.mdpi.com/2076-2615/10/11/2021herpetocultureevidence based husbandrynatural history<i>Hydrodynastes gigas</i> |
| spellingShingle | Zachary J. Loughman Utilization of Natural History Information in Evidence based Herpetoculture: A Proposed Protocol and Case Study with <i>Hydrodynastes gigas</i> (False Water Cobra) Animals herpetoculture evidence based husbandry natural history <i>Hydrodynastes gigas</i> |
| title | Utilization of Natural History Information in Evidence based Herpetoculture: A Proposed Protocol and Case Study with <i>Hydrodynastes gigas</i> (False Water Cobra) |
| title_full | Utilization of Natural History Information in Evidence based Herpetoculture: A Proposed Protocol and Case Study with <i>Hydrodynastes gigas</i> (False Water Cobra) |
| title_fullStr | Utilization of Natural History Information in Evidence based Herpetoculture: A Proposed Protocol and Case Study with <i>Hydrodynastes gigas</i> (False Water Cobra) |
| title_full_unstemmed | Utilization of Natural History Information in Evidence based Herpetoculture: A Proposed Protocol and Case Study with <i>Hydrodynastes gigas</i> (False Water Cobra) |
| title_short | Utilization of Natural History Information in Evidence based Herpetoculture: A Proposed Protocol and Case Study with <i>Hydrodynastes gigas</i> (False Water Cobra) |
| title_sort | utilization of natural history information in evidence based herpetoculture a proposed protocol and case study with i hydrodynastes gigas i false water cobra |
| topic | herpetoculture evidence based husbandry natural history <i>Hydrodynastes gigas</i> |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-2615/10/11/2021 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT zacharyjloughman utilizationofnaturalhistoryinformationinevidencebasedherpetocultureaproposedprotocolandcasestudywithihydrodynastesgigasifalsewatercobra |