Abstract
The ability of hatchling pine snakes (Pituophis melanoleucus) to select and follow or avoid chemical odors of prey (mice,Mus musculus) on a shavings and paper substrate was investigated in Y-maze experiments, as a function of incubation temperature and experience. Incubation temperature affected behavior in the maze, and the maze choices of naive snakes, but not of snakes that had already eaten a mouse. The data indicate that snakes that have eaten, preferentially enter the arm bearing chemical stimuli from mice, whereas those that have not eaten show no preference.
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Burger, J. Response to prey chemical cues by hatchling pine snakes (Pituophis melanoleucus): Effects of incubation temperature and experience. J Chem Ecol 17, 1069–1078 (1991). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01402934
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01402934