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Isberg SR, Shilton CM. Stress in farmed saltwater crocodiles (Crocodylus porosus): no difference between individually- and communally-housed animals. Springerplus. 2013;2:381doi: 10.1186/2193-1801-2-381.
Isberg, S. R., & Shilton, C. M. (2013). Stress in farmed saltwater crocodiles (Crocodylus porosus): no difference between individually- and communally-housed animals. SpringerPlus, 2381. https://doi.org/10.1186/2193-1801-2-381
Isberg, Sally R, and Shilton, Cathy M. "Stress in farmed saltwater crocodiles (Crocodylus porosus): no difference between individually- and communally-housed animals." SpringerPlus vol. 2 (2013): 381. doi: https://doi.org/10.1186/2193-1801-2-381
Isberg SR, Shilton CM. Stress in farmed saltwater crocodiles (Crocodylus porosus): no difference between individually- and communally-housed animals. Springerplus. 2013 Aug 13;2:381. doi: 10.1186/2193-1801-2-381. eCollection 2013. PMID: 24010039; PMCID: PMC3755803.
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Springerplus. 2013 Aug 13;2:381. doi: 10.1186/2193-1801-2-381. eCollection 2013.

Stress in farmed saltwater crocodiles (Crocodylus porosus): no difference between individually- and communally-housed animals.

SpringerPlus

Sally R Isberg, Cathy M Shilton

Affiliations

  1. Centre for Crocodile Research, PO Box 329, Noonamah, Northern Territory 0837 Australia ; Faculty of Veterinary Science, University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW 2006 Australia.

PMID: 24010039 PMCID: PMC3755803 DOI: 10.1186/2193-1801-2-381

Abstract

Minimising stress in farmed crocodiles is not only important for improving animal welfare, but may also improve skin blemish healing and infection resistance, which influence the quality of the final skin product. Forty near-harvest size saltwater crocodiles (1.6-1.8 m TL) from two Australian farms were sampled to evaluate the effect of different pen types (communal pens n=20; individual pens n=20) on stress as indicated by plasma corticosterone. Blood samples were taken within three minutes of immobilisation and analysed using a commercial enzyme immunoassay kit. There was no relationship with animal size (P=0.16), between farms (P=0.86), pen types (P=0.69), communal pens between farms (P=0.28) or individual pens between farms (P=0.24). Based on corticosterone levels, it appears that individual pens do not cause significantly more stress on harvest-size animals than communal pens. Individual pens meet their design specifications by achieving comparable healing rates of belly skin blemishes as communal pens without compromising animal welfare and minimising the possibility of new blemishes.

Keywords: Communal pens; Corticosterone; Individual pens; Saltwater crocodile; Stress

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