This is way to long to do in one post, so I will start slowly.

reptiles, kingsnakes are living animals. If you break them down, their task is to consume energy and process it and convert it into more snakes, to recruit. Their task is to do that up to their genetic limit. An advanced thought, they developed that limit to use, they do not have it to NOT USE. think about it.

As reptiles, they are ectotherms. so they utilize their enviornment to achieve those tasks.

In short, really short, they use heat to increase their metabolism.

And cool to decrease their metabolism to conserve energy. With snakes, some species are EXPERT at conserving energy. That is their life design.

I think you understand that. But what falls on deft ears is, they conserve energy in order to USE IT. Use all of it. Why the heck else would they conserve it? sorry, about to rant here. will wait for later.

What is missed on this forum and in many classrooms is, snakes work from a base of cool(conservation) and use heat(expending energy) for short periods. Even in the spring/summer/fall.

Simply put, they stay cool until the enviornment allows them to utilize heat, at that time, they attempt to expend energy. With adults, that means reproduction, with subadults that means growth.

How they do that is THEIR MAGIC. They do that by going to cool or cooler, as soon as they can, so that no energy is wasted. This is how they compete with mammals(which cannot do that)

in effect, they use as little heat as they can. Which for you Ross explains why they are under AC in the early spring, they need the newly available heat to kick start the reprodcutive season or season of growth, thats all they do you know, one or the other or both at once.

So, they come from where ever the heck they are(being cool) to seek only enough heat to do whats needed. Then back to cool as soon as possible.

That paragraph is key. NO WASTED ENERGY, that is their behavioral design.

The actual key to this in nature is hydration, with will not reproduce or grow, to use energy, unless they can maintain hydration, that is their first choice. again as a AC flipper, you know that. If its not suitably humid under that AC, NO SNAKES.

Ok, hopefully folks will not go all stupid and divert this thread in all manner of "other" directions.

So, what do you think so far. Does this meet your field experiences? Once we come to a common understanding with this, then we can move out to the real question of energy consumption and usage. Thanks

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