Behavioural Welfare Implications of Human Handling Practices in Zoo Snakes

Handling reptiles, particularly snakes, is common in ambassador-animal and animal-visitor interaction programmes. However, relatively little is known about the behavioural and welfare impacts of these interactions on snakes.

This study examined whether staff-led handling during visitor interactions impacted snake behaviour by comparing before and after handling and between handling and non-handling days.

Observations were conducted at Cleland Wildlife Park (South Australia, Australia) on three individual snakes: one woma python (Aspidites ramsayi) and two Children's pythons (Antaresia childreni). Behavioural data were collected using cameras in ZooMonitor using focal pinpoint sampling and an adapted reptile-based ethogram. Sixteen behaviours were categorised into five behavioural classes: Active, Inactive, Abnormal, Out of sight, and Other. All footage was scored blind to handling conditions.

No significant differences were detected in active or abnormal behaviour before versus after handling. However, inactive behaviour increased and out of sight behaviour decreased following handling. When handling days were compared with non-handling days, abnormal behaviour was significantly lower on handling days, while no significant differences were detected for behaviours classified as Other.

Short-term, staff-led handling during animal-visitor interactions was not associated with substantial changes in snake behaviour. The observed increase in inactive behaviour and decrease in out of sight behaviour following handling may reflect minor short-term behavioural adjustments to human interaction rather than pronounced welfare effects. Overall, these findings suggest that, under the conditions examined, brief handling had limited direct behavioural impacts on the snakes studied.

Although snakes are commonly displayed in zoos, little is known about proper behavioural welfare for the taxa. Little is also known about the impact of visitor interactions on snakes. We examined the impact of a snake handling interaction on three zoo-housed snakes. Abnormal behavior was lower on handling days while visibility increased following handling, suggesting a neutral to positive welfare effect. Future research should focus on better understanding proper welfare metrics for snakes.