Proper Temperature in Snake Cages

© 2015, Brandon Cornett | All rights reserved

Cage temperatures are one of the most important factors in keeping a pet snake healthy. Thus, the temperature of a snake cage is an essential "ingredient" in proper snake care.

Figuring out the proper temperature for your snake cage will require a bit of research. That's because every snake species has a different "temperature zone" in which that species will thrive. For example, the ideal temperatures for a ball python cage are too hot for a corn snake, and vice versa.

The best way to determine the ideal cage temperature for the species of snake you are keeping is to buy a care manual on that species. You can also use the Internet to find a wealth of articles and advice on the subject of cage temperatures -- which is how you found this article in the first place.

For example, if you are going to keep a California kingsnake, you could simply type the following search query into a major search engine like Google or Yahoo: "California kingsnake cage temperature." In fact, I searched this phrase while writing this article just to experiment, and I found a lot of excellent articles on keeping California kingsnakes -- including advice on cage temperature.

You could easily duplicate this search for any species of snake.

Why Cage Temperature is Important

You've probably heard the term "cold-blooded" used to describe snakes and other reptiles. While this term is used to signify a legitimate difference between reptiles and other animals, it's not entirely accurate.

It's not that reptiles have cold blood circulating through their veins -- but that they are unable to heat themselves up the way mammals do. Snakes are ectothermic, which means they get their body heat from outside their bodies. "Ecto" means from without. Thus, reptiles rely upon external heat sources.

In the wild, snakes will bask under the sun and lay on warm surfaced to elevate their body temperature. The sun heats them from above, and the warm surfaces (that have also been soaking up the sun) heat them from below. This helps the snake maintain proper body temperate for necessary functions such as digestion.

On the contrary, we humans are endothermic mammals. "Endo" means from within. Although we also get heat from the sun, we generate most of our body heat from within our bodies. Thus, we do not rely as heavily on external heat sources, the way reptiles do. Sometimes, like when our bodies are fighting off illness, they can heat themselves too much. This is called running a fever, and it's a prime example of our internal heating system.

To further differentiate these two heating "systems" (of reptiles and humans) consider the following scenario:

Let's say I am standing outside holding a snake in a plastic, unheated container. The air temperature outside is 60 degrees Fahrenheit. If you took my body temperature, it would be somewhere in the neighborhood of 98 degrees -- much warmer than the air temperature. That's because my body can partially heat itself from within.

However, if you measured the snake's core body temperature, it would be much closer to the 60-degree air temperature outside (depending on how long it had been outside, how sunny or cloudy it was, etc.). That's too cold for a snake to stay active. In the wild, this snake would find a dark hiding spot somewhere and go into brumation -- a state of reduced body activity, similar to hibernation.

So temperature has an affect on snake health and activity alike.

What This Means to the Snake Keeper

You must provide a heat source and maintain proper cage temperatures to keep you snake healthy. You can provide heat and maintain temperatures in a number of ways, just so long as you do it.

If your snake's cage is too hot or too cold, it might seem that everything is okay at first. But in time, your snake's health will begin to deteriorate. It will likely stop eating. It may develop any number of illnesses, such as respiratory infections. This will continue until the snake perishes.

Of course, this is all very easy to prevent. Just maintain proper temperatures. Easy!

Additional Tips on Cage Temperatures

  • All snakes are ecothermic, meaning they rely on their environment (and their keepers) to regulate their body temperature.
  • As a snake keeper, you must make sure your snake's habitat has proper temperatures year round.
  • Proper cage temperature will vary depending on the species of snake. So you'll have to do some research to find out what's best for your snake.
  • A snake cage that's too hot is just as bad as one that's too cold.
  • A temperature range or "gradient" will allow your snake to thermoregulate, moving from warmer to cooler side as needed for health and comfort.
  • There are a number of ways to heat a snake cage, such as using a heat lamp, a ceramic heating element, or an under-the-tank heat pad / tape.
  • You should experiment with heating methods until you find one that works best for your particular type of snake cage.
  • A rheostat can help you control your cage temperatures by reducing the amount of power going to the heating device (thus reducing heat output).
  • There are a variety of ways to measure temperatures inside a snake cage, such as thermometer strips, digital thermometers with probes, and temperature guns.
  • Using multiple thermometers will allow you to validate the temperature readings provided by any one thermometer.
  • Get into the habit of doing a basic temperature check once a day, and a thorough temperature check (using temperate guns) once a week.