Posted by:
Ameron
at Tue May 11 13:55:54 2010 [ Email Message ] [ Show All Posts by Ameron ]
I really chuckle every time I see a care sheet or Internet article stating the commonly believed myth: "Overnight temperatures should not go below seventy degrees Fahrenheit. If temperature is too low, regurgitation or other problems may occur".
It's been quite awhile now since I caught on to the fact (from personal observation, and stated in better field guides and species documentation) that overnight lows into the high 40s are common in North America, even in summer. Wild snakes can easily accommodate low temperatures in the 50s and high 40s as long as normal basking can occur during the day.
Overnight lows of normal room temperature in 60s, and even into the 50s, are completely fine for most captive specimens.
Last April, following an accidental drop from a platform, my male Cal King was lost in my yard when the temperature was 68 degrees. (He had last eaten 7 days before, thankfully.) An immediately cold front came into the area, bringing low temperatures into the 40s during more than two weeks he was missing.
I never gave up hope and searched often in my yard & surrounding areas.
During a partially sunny day when the high temperature reached 54 degrees, I found him sunning under some tall grass, just yards from where he had escaped! He had not found a brumation site, and the ground was too wet for rodent burrows. He had been hiding in unmowed, tall grass.
Back inside my home, I held him for a long time as he warmed. He gave one big, brief shudder - just like you or I would after enduring a long, cold spell. He's been exhibiting normal behavior ever since, and actively explores his vivarium for hours each day.
*Please update the applicable care sheets & husbandry articles.)
Portland/Vancouver
1.0 Lampropeltis getula californiae (Carlsbad Wide-banded morph)
0.1 Lampropeltis getula californiae (Los Angeles County Coastal Banded morph)
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 Overnight Low Temps - Defy the Myth - Ameron, Tue May 11 13:55:54 2010
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