do rat snakes hibernate?

Question

i have a grey rat snake that seems to be hibernating. i keep the temp between 70 and 80. so do they?

Answer 1

If your snake is sexually mature, 18mo. -2yrs. old, It will hibernate(brumate) no matter what the temp. I have dozens of native(to Pa.) snakes, black rats, eastern milks, eastern garters, queen snakes, northern copperhead, timber rattler that have already become inactive for the winter. The temp. where they are housed is between 65-72 constantly without external heat applied & these snake will not become active again till late Feb. or mid March. Before they became sexually mature, they stayed awake & feeding all winter, but now they go dormant. Hope this helps.

Answer 2

Rat snakes do hibernate in the wild, but with the temperature that you have it set at, it will not be hibernating. My grey rat snake would get a bit more sluggish in the winter but would never hibernate. There is no reason to hibernate your snake unless you are thinking of breeding it.

Answer 3

snakes such as the rat and corn snake "Brumate" it is kinda like hibernation. It is actually caused by cool surroundings slowing them down. You can artificially brumate them in captivity to induce breeding in the warm up of simulated spring.

Answer 4

i have a yellow rat and he gets sluggish and sleeps for a few days if he eats an extra big meal - maybe the mouse was bigger than normal?

Answer 5

Yes they do. But not in captivity because they are in a "controlled enviroment"