Editorial Type:
Article Category: Research Article
| Online Publication Date: 01 Jan 2005
The Effect of Feeding a Prebiotic on Salmonella Excretion in Carpet Pythons, Morelia and Scrub Pythons, Morelia amethystina
The Effect of Feeding a Prebiotic on Salmonella Excretion in Carpet Pythons, Morelia and Scrub Pythons, Morelia amethystina
BVSc, DVSc, MACVSc, DACZM and
BSc, BVSc
Page Range: 4 – 6
Prebiotics, such as lactulose, are non-digestible food ingredients that beneficially affect the host by selectively stimulating the growth and/or activity of one or a limited number of bacteria in the intestinal tract. This study was performed to determine if lactulose could be used to eliminate Salmonella from two different species of Morelia. Although this compound has been used to eliminate Salmonella from the gastro-intestinal tract of humans and rats, it failed to demonstrate a similar effect in carpet pythons, Morelia spilota, or scrub pythons, Morelia amethystina. Instead, the snakes continued to excrete Salmonella in their feces despite being fed lactulose.ABSTRACT
Keywords: carpet python;
Morelia spilota
; scrub python; Morelia amethystina; prebiotic; lactulose;
Salmonella
Copyright: © 2005, ARAV.