Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Is it possible that certain groups of snakes, (since this is the Indigo forum I will use Indigo's as the example) to have a greater tolerance to heat? Since Indigo's are diurnal, it may be safe to assume that once in awhile snakes may be caught in a place where there isn,t any under ground retreat. And so they find some shady retreat to weather out the heat of the day until it cools down to make travel safe for them again. Is it possible that Indigo's from south Florida where its warmer and sunny all year, may be able to stand higher temperatures than snakes in Georgia. just a thought.

Jack

I have yet to find D. couperi far from an area which would provide good cover or a body of water in the wild, with most of the specimens I have encountered in the wild being in South Dade County. I generally found D. couperi out basking at dawn and sunset, but never during the mid afternoon hours, with the exception of individuals I found during periods of cool weather, usually with their heads only exposed to sunlight with the rest of their body being confined to a tortoise burrow or underground root system.
The truth is, Drymarchon spp. simply do not tolerate excessive heat very well and will retreat from such, if given the opportunity, regardless of conditioning.

Best regards,

Jeff
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Jeff Snodgres
University of Arkansas
snodgresjeffreys@uams.edu
501.603.1947