Physiological effects of capture and short-term captivity in an invasive snake species, the Burmese python (Python bivittatus) in Florida.

It is important to evaluate the role of captivity as a potential stressor. An understanding of stress responses to capture and transition to captivity may inform the limitations of laboratory studies on wild animals, aid in understanding the consequences of introducing animals into captive environments, and help predict which species may be successful invasives. We investigated physiological effects of captivity by comparing at-capture blood variables in wild Burmese pythons (Python bivittatus) in Florida to pythons recently brought into captivity (1-109 days).