Urgent advice

[Sam8818]

Hi

just wondering how long can a python go without heating ?

 

[Friller2009]

Depends on the species, your location, the age of the snake.
Would be good if we could get some more info than just ‘python’

 

[Sdaji]

Something between seconds and decades.

 

[Friller2009]

Don’t you love it when someone asks a question and never gets back on.

 

[Dustproof]

Heat is needed all year around. Some say Snakes are Cold Blooded, I prefer to say they are warm blooded, and it is just that they can't generate their own body heat. If they don't have heat for a while, they will get sick and die. There is no fixed rule on the amount of time they can survive, it's a matter of the correct husbandry.

 

[Sdaji]

Heat is needed all year around. Some say Snakes are Cold Blooded, I prefer to say they are warm blooded, and it is just that they can't generate their own body heat. If they don't have heat for a while, they will get sick and die. There is no fixed rule on the amount of time they can survive, it's a matter of the correct husbandry.

It really depends on the species and environment.

I've kept snakes in the tropics without ever giving them any supplemental heating. In some cases I've had to take it a step further and in addition to never giving them any supplemental heating I've had to give them supplemental cooling.

I've been unable to keep some snakes I wanted to keep in some places because it was just too hot for them. For example, I'd never bother trying to keep Copperheads in the hot tropics, they're just going to die from too much heat even if you keep them on the floor without any supplemental heat.

If you're keeping most species of pythons in a place like Melbourne, sure, you're generally going to want to give them heating every day, but there are plenty of examples of situations where snakes don't ever need any supplemental heat.

 

[Dustproof]

If you live in the tropics then it's understandable that you don't give supplemental heat, I don't and probably most live in cooler states. I will keep that in mind next time.

 

[Sdaji]

If you live in the tropics then it's understandable that you don't give supplemental heat, I don't and probably most live in cooler states. I will keep that in mind next time.

It's not just the tropics. I don't currently live in the tropics but even in Melbourne there are snakes you can keep without supplemental heating, depending on various aspects of your house/shed - let's not forget that there are wild pythons including Antaresia and Carpets living well outside the tropics which of course never get any artificial heating. When I was first keeping snakes, one of the most famous and largest snake breeders in the world only heated their snakes for about six months per year (they're continuing that method to this day, they literally only use cooling in summer and only heating in winter, and no, that's not a typo, and most of their snakes are pythons and boas). That's certainly not my preferred method and I don't personally like it, but even for tropical pythons it would work in places well outside the tropics such as Brisbane and for many species even in Sydney. VPI where this method is used is in the USA but has a climate fairly similar to Brisbane's (which is not in the tropics).

You can't use blanket rules for all situations and the OP said nothing about species or location.

 

[sherlock]

Something between seconds and decades.

Decades? I believe you, but have you any experience or knowledge about this. This too, is an ongoing question for me. I knew it could be many months or years, but decades? My respect for these creatures is great but to survive decades without food is awesome. Note -- I do not plan on experimenting on this point

 

[Sdaji]

Decades? I believe you, but have you any experience or knowledge about this. This too, is an ongoing question for me. I knew it could be many months or years, but decades? My respect for these creatures is great but to survive decades without food is awesome. Note -- I do not plan on experimenting on this point

I was responding to the question of how long they can survive 'without heat'. A snake literally without heat dies instantly. Usually when people say 'without heat' they mean without artificial/electric heating. I've kept generations of snakes without artificial heat. All snakes living in the wilderness exist without artificial heating.

As for how long a python can go without a feed, something between several weeks (maybe days in unusual situations) and several years. The longest I've seen pythons go without a feed without being in concerning condition is about three years, but I have no doubt in the right circumstances it could be stretched out to more than double that. A decade might be possible in some situations, but you'd be seriously pushing it and you'd have to deliberately prepare by getting it overweight then keeping it cool through most of each year to conserve energy, and managing it carefully to make sure it wasn't too chilled and got enough hot time to allow the immune system etc to function sufficiently. I doubt anyone would ever bother doing it as a deliberately-planned and well-executed experiment.

 

[sherlock]

It really depends on the species and environment.

I've kept snakes in the tropics without ever giving them any supplemental heating. In some cases I've had to take it a step further and in addition to never giving them any supplemental heating I've had to give them supplemental cooling.

I've been unable to keep some snakes I wanted to keep in some places because it was just too hot for them. For example, I'd never bother trying to keep Copperheads in the hot tropics, they're just going to die from too much heat even if you keep them on the floor without any supplemental heat.

If you're keeping most species of pythons in a place like Melbourne, sure, you're generally going to want to give them heating every day, but there are plenty of examples of situations where snakes don't ever need any supplemental heat.

Good point ead too briefly. It was about heat not food.