engleski

Field sampling of four - lined snakes (Elaphe quatuorlineata) from Cres Island

Four-lined snake (Elaphe quatuorlineata) is the Europe's largest non-venomous colubrid species. Adults can grow up to 260 cm, but the average total size is 150 cm. These snakes could be found near the wood edges and hedges, in open woods, and also on rocky overgrown hillsides. They are spread over the whole coastal part of Croatia and some islands such as Olib, Cres, Silba, Hvar Vis, etc. The four-lined snake is a rather phlegmatic and relatively slow-moving, and it is considered our most docile snake that almost never bites. For better understanding of gastrointestinal microflora, some infectious diseases and parasitoses in these snakes, the oral and cloacal swabs were taken, together with the ticks from the skin for morphological identification. The snakes were caught with the safety gloves on various locations of the Cres island. Most of them were found in the fields, woods and olive groves. Two people were taking the samples together, one holding the snake and the other one taking the cloacal and oral swabs. Two parallel swabs from each site were taken, one was placed into the transport medium (Amies swabs with transport media) for the standard bacteriology, while the other one was stored for DNA isolation. Ticks from the animals were taken with the forceps and transferred into the Eppendorf tube with the moist piece of paper. The samples were stored in the refrigerator until examined. The general condition and possible health problems of each animal were assessed by the inspection and palpation of each individual. The aims of this study were (i) to get better understanding of the overall health status of four-striped snakes for the conservation purposes, and (ii) to increase the knowledge about the bacteria-related complications of potential bites and spreading of the pathogens.

snakes; field sampling; veterinarians

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