Can Snakes Drown?

[DrunkShadow]

Do snakes drown because ive put it once in water just to see what it does and it just sinks. I took it out cuz i thought it was drowning. He is only 20 incehs long (ball python)
What should the depth of water be?

[LILCREEP]

im sure that they can as they breath air.
generally tho they can swim

[XxRachxX]

WIERD! i was thinking about this the other day actually! i really dont know why.... well.... they'd drown eventually... just that they can hold their breath for a long time cant they?
i only ever keep the water for my snake (corn) about to the top of his back... maybe a little less..... but mitch doesnt seem to like the water.... at all.... so i only do it when hes shedding anyway:)

[RachelS.]

Well, all snakes are born swimmers and climbers, but I'm sure they can drown from getting too tired or running out of breath like everything else.

[unBOAlievable]

Yeah snakes can drown,
Sometimes after they pip there eggs when they hatch they go back inside and drown, happened to me this year with a burm. But as a general rule I never put enough water in the bowl for juveniles to drown in.

[BurmBaroness]

Rule of thumb when soaking a snake, is only put the water halfway up the snake's body. Snakes CAN drown. Also, be sure the water is not too cold or too hot, as this can also harm the snake.

[Linds]

Being air-breathing animals, of course they can drown... however it would have to be due to either exhaustion from trying to swim for such a long time, or from injury/accident/murder... snakes are excellent swimmers and can hold their breath under water for 45 minutes :)

[Stockwell]

Snakes can drown, but usually only if they are trapped under water. I've heard of them getting into hopper feeders where they can't get out.
That will drown them, sometimes in wells too. Sometimes escapees get into the toilets, and while they can drown, more oftern than not , they travel through the pipes and come up in somebody elses toilet.. happens in apartment buildings. Linds is right, they can hold their breath a heck of a long time.

[J.J.]

i dont mean 2 be rude...but....OMG!! I AM CRACKING UP RITE NOW!!!!!! LOL!!! plz dont take this personaly but HAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!! its a good question...lol...im sorry...that is just funny...ive never thought about it...wooooo...that was a great laff!! thanx i needed that!! well..thats kinda strange that ur snake sinks..lol. okay im gunna stop now! :p :D :)

[Invictus]

Originally posted by Linds
snakes are excellent swimmers and can hold their breath under water for 45 minutes :)

Hmmm... is this true of all snakes? I saw my BCC dunk his head in the water, and I saw bubbles come up from his nose after about 30 secs... I took him out because I was also worried he might drown. :)

[Linds]

Yes it is true of all snakes, some can even hold it for much longer.

[tHeGiNo]

JJ my apologies but I do not see what is so funny lol.

[Lisa]

sometimes the snake will sink and sit there. just because you want the snake to swim doesn't mean the snake wants to swim. We put a couple snakes into a CHEMICAL FREE pool last summer and they tended to just sit there until they felt like swimming, which was triggered by us taking a step back from the snake (they no longer felt safe in the open water). here's a link to see our baby feather swim http://snakes.lexxdog.com/feather/feather-swim.mpg

BTW if you do decide to take your snake swiming, make sure the pool is chemical free and stay near them so they don't hurt them selves and you can stop them from going into filters etc. I would not suggest taking them to a natural pond because of the bacteria in the pond and other unforseen issues.

[SerpentLust]

That clip was so cute! My snake doesn't like to swim. My Ribbon Does obviously. But my other one doesn't.

Jenn