The Effect of Feeding a Prebiotic on Salmonella Excretion in Carpet Pythons, Morelia and Scrub Pythons, Morelia amethystina

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.