Reptile & Amphibian Forums

In South Louisiana the weather likes to be strange and change alot. For example we didnt have much of a spring this year. It was freezing cold one day then over a week it was really hot. Then the next week it was cold again.
So my question is....snakes in the wild...do they go by instinct and time or do they depend on the temps?

Is it seems like it would be easy for a snake to get caught in the cold if they actually did go by temperature.

Probably by the light cycle.
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V.P.
Austin Herp. Soc.

I find my captives very influenced by the light cycle, regardless of temps. I suspect it's a lot of both, with light playing a bigger part that lots of folks realize. Duffy

I have read and heard a number of accounts of people locating dens (often for rattlesnakes and/or copperheads) where in early spring they will observe snakes outside sunning in the afternoon, then retreating as the sun (and temps) go down. When I observe my snakes in their cages in a climate controlled room, I see them move from side to side under the heat lamp, obviously following temperature, since the illumination is general. As with most things involving animals, it's rarely just one thing that determines behavior. I would bet on temps and light cycles and maybe even the earth's magnetic field as all helping determine denning and hibernation patterns.

Great question, wish I knew the exact answer. One thing to consider, snakes make use of heat in the ground an aweful lot, and the heat in the ground (surface and just below heating up) changes with the seasons but more slowly than day-to-day temps. So I think the light cycle AND the trend of the ground not holding heat as long or deep may trigger it in wild snakes, since those two things go hand in hand. A single hot or cold day may not buck the trend too much. My guess anyway.
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Mark

i think they go by temp. last winter where i live it warmed up in the middle of december, the snakes came out and trees blossomed, then it froze again possibly hurting snakes and trees.
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jake

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1.0 albino cal king (zeus)
0.0.1 wc garter (zim)
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