Reptile & Amphibian Forums

i want a snake. but i don't want one that's going to sleep all damn day long.

is there a way i can "trick" the snake to switch his activity? say i (over time) have his light on at night time and say a colored light(i think blue works) during the day. so he's more active during the day, and sleeps at night, thinking that's actually the day for him?

yes this might be dumb, but i'm planing on getting a snake and really don't want a bump on the log.

Snakes, like most wild creatures, just don't wander around for the fun of it. Those sort of behaviors were selected against millenia ago.

Snakes in the wild are faced with a dilemna. They need food and water, but if they wander around during the day, the get killed by predators. So snakes are reclusive and nocturnal where that is available. When they are adequately fed and their needs are being met, they tend to spend their time hiding. It is safer that way. When I see a snake cruising back and forth in a cage, I infer that the snake is in someway uncomfortable, be that because of lack of food, water, proper hiding place, proper temperatures, etc.

There are some snakes that are less reclusive than others. My western hogs tend not to use any sort of hide box or to bury themselves. So, most of the time they are visible. Of course, they are sleeping, but I can at least see them sleeping.

Some arboreal snakes will sleep during the day in a visible position on a branch, but they aren't cruising around all day. I have kept "really active" snakes, like coachwhips, before and invariably, when they are well fed, they spend the day in their hide boxes.

If you want a pet that is always active in the day and willing to interact with you when you want it to, you should consider a social animal like a dog.

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Chris Harrison

Thanks for the input. i've always wanted a snake and doing a mass study on thier behaviors and the diffrent types and what not.

also i have a dog. and if all the kids in the neighborhood would let me have visitation... i would play with her!haha they are in my yard from when i get home until they go to bed. it's rather annoying at times.

I have black rats and texas rats. I keep all of them under black lights 24/7 for heat. I just recently went from astroturf to apsen bedding so they are now much more active - guess they dont like the turf. I have a lot of climbing branches up in their tanks and they love to climb on there - esp in the evening and early morning. I see them more than I expected to. Just stick with a colubrid - pref. a rat snake, they are the most active of those that i've seen (for someone with minor to moderate experience)
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The reason mainstream thought is thought of as a stream is because it's so shallow. -George Carlin

Battling ignorance one stupid person at a time.

Current snakes:
0.1 Licorice Stick Black Rat(Lola)
1.0 Neonate Black Rat (het for Lic Stk's) (Frankie)
1.1 Texas Bairds (Jose and Rosa)

My posts are my opinion only. What you end up doing is your own choice. I will not be held liable for any negative outcome of my advice. (However I will never intentionally give bad advice. My advice is ALWAYS geared towards a positive outcome.)

I agree with the last reply but also if you pull your snake out for a little while to handle it, no matter what kind it will wake up so you'll at least get to see some activity during the day. If your looking for something to sit and watch get a fish or something cuz snakes love to just sit. I've also noticed that alot of my adult snakes tend to be active during the day more than the juveniles. My hackneyed theory for this is that they are probably big enough that in the wild they wouldn't be prey for a whole lot plus they have to hunt larger (probably less nocturnal creatures to support their larger mass) so maybe look at a reptile breeder's shop or a pet store that has larger snakes as well (if there's one around you) and see if you think the same. The plus side to a nocturnal snake is that if you pull it out to handle during the day it may be a little nippier but it's sleepy and will settle down with your body heat and relax so it's easier to handle. Good luck with whatever you get but please don't try to trick nature, it almost always backfires. Sera
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1.0 watersnake
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