During certain times of year, they are subjected to nighttime temps at least this warm, however, this is not on a continual calendar basis. I have found that rattlesnakes are very prone to heat stress and not having opportunities to thermal regulate with wide temp variants can cause stress in captive crotalines. We do many temp checks and most of our rattlers, even desert dwellers, spend a portion of the day basking in temps ranging from 88-92 deg F. but then retreat to cooler areas for the remainder of teh day (daytime ranging from 70-75 deg F. with night temps dropping to 68-72 deg F.). When we are cycling certain species for breeding, the winter temps are much lower. This is just my opinion and there may be others who feel that 79 is perfectly acceptable but I am just basing my opinions on observations of natural behavior of rattlesnakes.

Rob Carmichael, Curator
The Wildlife Discovery Center
Lake Forest, IL

>>Hoping for a lot of replies...
>>
>>Can you please tell me what the maximum temp is for the atrox ? My snake room is about 79 at night and i am afraid that this is too hot for the atrox at night... (is it ?)
>>I hope you can tell me the ideal temps for the night the minimum and maximum temps for the night..
>>Hope to hear from you soon...
>>
>>Best regards.. Michiel (the Netherlands)
-----
Rob Carmichael, Curator
The Wildlife Discovery Center at Elawa Farm
Lake Forest, IL

[ Show Entire Thread ]