Pet Snake Care Guide on Temperature

Pet Snake Care Guide on Temperature

Snakes are cold blooded animals. The way it regulates heat is different from humans. Snakes rely heavily on its environment to warm its bodies. Pet snake care should provide your snake with the proper amount of heat. Snakes are both ectothermic and poikilthermic.

Ectothermic qualities allow snakes to maintain suitable body temperature by relying on external heat sources. Poikilothermic is how the snakes body is affected by the external environment. Proper pet snake care should include temperature regulation especially in places that are cold.

What happens when there is not enough heat from the environment? In instances when there is no sufficient external heat, the snake will stop feeding thus resulting to reduced metabolic rate. The snake becomes lethargic. It tends to be susceptible to diseases. The lack of heat sources can be fatal for snakes.

Normally, a snake can regulate its body temperature by lying around hot places or basking under the sun. In a controlled environment such as a cage, the snake will gravitate towards a warm object when it feels cold. When it gets too hot for the snake’s body, it will move back to a cooler part of the cage. This process of shifting from one temperature to another is known as thermoregulation.

Pet snake care should provide external heat sources for your pet. You can achieve this by letting the cage soak under the sun. However, if this is not possible, you can use heating pads or heating strips. You can also induce thermoregulation by isolating a portion of the cage for external heat. The snake can choose to move closer to the heat source when it feels cold and transfer to a cooler place when it had enough heat.