Methods & Protocol
Selection criteria will be finalized after system validation and before formal selection data are evaluated. This page is the timestamped record of that order.
Voluntary Surface Exposure
Camera outages and unusable footage will be recorded as missing data, not as time underground.
Planned Measurements
| Measure | Definition | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Emergence Frequency | How often an animal appears above the substrate. | Planned |
| Surface Event Duration | How long individual surface appearances last. | Planned |
| Maximum Surface Duration | The longest continuous surface event during the observation period. | Planned |
| Surface Movement | Detectable movement while the animal is exposed. | Planned |
| Exposed Resting | Time spent stationary while visible above the substrate. | Planned |
| Time-of-Day Activity | When surface behavior occurs relative to the light and dark cycle. | Planned |
| Post-Reset Reburial Latency | Time between the end of a standardized weekly husbandry event and complete disappearance beneath the substrate. | Planned |
| Feeding-Associated Activity | Behavioral changes around scheduled feeding events. | Planned |
Behavior Is Not Read Alone
Behavior will be interpreted alongside the records that explain it.
- Weight
- Growth
- Feeding
- Feeding refusals
- Shed events
- Sex when known
- Age or hatch date when known
- Health observations
- Veterinary interventions
- Temperature
- Lighting schedule
- Equipment changes
- Unscheduled disturbances
- Breeding events
- Parentage and lineage
Validate Before Selecting
The proof of concept ran on a test bench with test subjects (a rubber snake and a toy lizard). Rack 1 is now built with its cameras recording, and the first founders are in quarantine. Before formal selection begins, the system is being used to test:
- Camera placement
- Video reliability
- Behavior detection
- Thermal consistency
- Substrate performance
- Weekly procedures
- Data storage
- QR-linked animal records
- Missing-data handling
Pilot observations will not automatically become formal selection data.
All Founders From One Birth Season
Age changes how often a sand boa comes to the surface. If the founders were years apart, we could not tell a line that surfaces more from a snake that is simply older or younger.
So every founder comes from the same birth season’s litters (the 2026 litters for this cohort), which keeps them within a few months of each other no matter when each one is bought or delivered. Every founder’s hatch date and source are recorded on its page.
If we cannot fill the cohort from one season, we either start smaller (one founder per line, then grow from the same season) or move the whole cohort to the next season. We will not mix ages to fill the rack faster.
Research Rarely Goes Exactly as Planned
If the protocol changes, the project will document:
- What changed
- When it changed
- Why it changed
- Which animals or generations were affected
Older protocol versions should remain available whenever practical.
Welfare Outranks Consistency
Animal welfare takes priority over experimental consistency.
No snake will be deprived of appropriate substrate or deliberately made uncomfortable to increase surface activity.
If an animal requires altered husbandry or veterinary treatment, it will receive it. The deviation will be documented rather than ignored.
Protocol Version History
Changes to the plan
October 28, 2026
Founder lines: 10 lines from 10 breeders becomes 20 lines from 5 breeders
What changed. The founder plan changes from about 20 snakes (about two from each of roughly ten breeders) to 24: 21 study founders covering 20 unrelated lines, plus 3 control animals. The controls are half-siblings from one breeder (same father, different mothers) and show how much behavior varies within a single family.
Why. Several breeders could supply multiple unrelated lines each. Sourcing deeper from fewer breeders doubles the number of independent lines while keeping every line traceable to one source.
Animals affected. All founders (generation F0). No animals were removed and no study data existed yet. F0-01 to F0-11 are unchanged. Of the 4 R&R Reptiles half-siblings, one stays in the study and 3 become controls.
Sources. R&R Reptiles (one study founder and the 3 controls), Goth Exotics, Boa ERYX and Soflo Sand Boas (six founders, arrived October 29); SNK still to come.
No published protocol versions yet
Follow the drafting process in Lab Notes.