It actually doesn't matter if its Fla or not. But I will address your obervation first.
I too lived in Fla. Central fla. I would hunt ratsnakes on the coldest days in the winter. They would be out. Only on the coldest days??????????? You know when the blue northerns drop down and the night time temps were in the teens and days were sunny and 45F. Great days to herp. Crisp air.
Ok, back the snakes. As I mentioned, snakes have basic behaviors, they do not behave like we want them too in a shoebox. At different times of the year, they do different things. All snakes do these things no matter where they come from.
Because snakes are so good at conserving energy, they normally only feed for short periods during a year. Lets say, 8 to 10 decent sized meals a year is enough to regain all energy lost and actually grow. They normally do this if a couple months.
The rest of the time they conserve energy, which is done by lowering their metabolism. This also occurs on a daily basis. Even during foraging season.
Lets stop and start this over, when we say "THEY" that means all of something, like all colubrids or all snakes, or all kings or all ratsnakes, depends what we are talking about. So lets take a basic colubrid like kings. hahahahahahahahaha being its a kingsnake forum and all.
Ok, snake populations break down into several areas and are NOT represented in field studies. At least not very well. Most studies only pick a small part of the "THEY" then the information is applied to all of "They".
Neonates do not behavior like adults.
resident adults do not behave like transient adults
Transient adults do not behave like resident adults.
Old individuals(normally residents do not behave like the rest of the population.
Reproductive individuals do not behave like other non reproductive adults.
In the field work I have read about, these different segments are ignored.
Remember, with behavior, nothing is cut and dry or absolute. Which is what kills off are baby academics. They teach, so they want everything to be cut and dry.
With behavior, any physical change can impact "their" behavior. For instance a change in weather, drought, floods, cold and hot extremes, fires, etc. And intrusion by US field herpers trying to figure out what they are doing. All can and do impact and change their behavior. Again behavior is odd in that its again not absolute. The degree of change is not absolute, it can be from extreme to almost zero.
So lets pick normal conditions.
Neonates, feed and grow, therefore pick higher temps for as long as they physically can. Then they normally go down where ever they are at.
Resident adults, normally have a very set and successful routine. They normally return to a gathering of reproductive adults(other resident adults) They normally do this for about half the year(late fall, winter, and early spring) These gatherings culminate in laying the last clutch, then they move to feeding areas and feed.
Transient adults, are adults that do not or cannot maintain a set home range. So they are constantly on the move and are the easist for us to find. I call them gooners, the reason is, they spend much of their life gooning around. But, this does not mean they do not attempt to reproduce. Of course they will. The difference is, they do not have a set place to reproduce and often no set mate. Residents normally bond to a male and normally copulate with that male year after year.
The main difference between resident and transient reproduction is placement. Residents place their offspring in areas that are proven to be successful, so a high percentage succeed. This is a circle, and is why these areas have high densities. I call them hubs, not HUBBS(oh god). Transients place their nests in areas where the offspring have a poor survival rate. Which leaves a low adult population. They often do not lay their eggs in the same place year after year, residents do.
Old adults, are very successful residents, their difference is, their behavior is highly honed in a very successful way. They do not move much, and "know" exactly what to do and when, and they keep it to a minimum. They don't expend much energy and do not consume much. This part of the population IS VERY IMPORTANT. Its the least effected by adverse conditions. Large mass, little energy expenditure.
Now to answer your question. hahahahahahahaha
In both the north and the south, These types of snakes do different things like I indicate above. In the north, you see larger more predominate gatherings like So called DENS. These areas are allow for a much longer season, not just the ability to survive the winter. In the south, the animals are doing the same things, gathering in groups, etc. NOT FEEDING, at least the breeders.
Neonates and young pre sexually mature individuals, will feed for as long as prey is available. This is true in all areas, but common sense indicates that there is a much shorter feeding season in the nothernly areas. In the warmer areas, neonates and young will feed and MOVE year around.
THe problem with brumation is, people think these animals are bears or something, No even bears do not hibernate. They reproduce in dens in the winter. They attempt to take them to a temp which stops activity, and for the entire winter. Yet in nature, they never stop activity in the warmer areas, EVEN IF THEY ARE NOT FORAGING. And in the north, they(reproducing adults) go to areas where they can maintain bodily functions like crawling. Check inside dens and see whats happening. Other segments of the population, like neonates and non reproductive adults, will go down for and cease activity for much longer periods, Often in their foraging areas.
TO change the subject a little, I do that a lot! I would think most folks would ask better questions like, WHERE do the neonates go, what are they doing. You know, most dens in the north only contain ADULTS, Wheres the rest of the population. After all, only dying populations only contain adults. Healthy populations contain all segments. SOOOOOOOOOOOO using the word "they" must mean all parts of the population, not just the part you saw in the tree.
So in the case of this forum, I concentrate on breeding adults when I say "They" as that is the focal point of why people think they have to hibernate, brumate, their snakes, as in, TO BREED THEM.
Well, the breeders in nature is the segment that attempts to avoid hibernation, at all costs. They seek areas which will allow the longest possible active(behaviorally) season.
So yes, there are inactive animals in all areas, they will do that anytime of the year, when fuel(energy) is absent. They pick cool temps to avoid energy loss. Its not about winter, its about energy conservation, which is what REPTILES do year a round. Reproductive adults move to areas that support their needs as long as possible. Once an area cannot support those needs at least to a minimum, They will no longer utilize those areas. As you move farther north and those needs are not met, these snakes disappear. Any more questions, hahahahahaha Cheers
