Keeping snakes without a hotspot

Doug 351 · 08-01-17, 06:52 PM

Since mention was made of ratlesnakes, I thought I'd throw this out there. Scientists were trying to figure out how a certain species of rattlesnake could survive in sub-freezing temperatures and digest it's food.

They basically force fed one of these rattlesnakes and studied it under conditions mimicking it's habitat. After a period of time, they had to take emergency action to save the snake.

Well, they missed ONE thing! In the wild, rattlesnakes invenomate their prey which initiates and assists the digestive processes. They injected prey with venom and repeated the experiment with much success.

jjhill001 · 08-01-17, 08:15 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Doug 351

Since mention was made of ratlesnakes, I thought I'd throw this out there. Scientists were trying to figure out how a certain species of rattlesnake could survive in sub-freezing temperatures and digest it's food.

They basically force fed one of these rattlesnakes and studied it under conditions mimicking it's habitat. After a period of time, they had to take emergency action to save the snake.

Well, they missed ONE thing! In the wild, rattlesnakes invenomate their prey which initiates and assists the digestive processes. They injected prey with venom and repeated the experiment with much success.

Do we know whether they are actively feeding in sub-freezing temperatures in the wild? I'm no rattlesnake expert but I think that's really cool. Not just a, can they but do they kind of question.

If we think about the places these snakes are found, in North America at least (or even just North American Snakes in general) in regards to when the last ice age ended, 11,700 years ago is what google craps out from livescience. Potentially with a catastrophic meteor related event 13,000 years ago that might have wiped out the mega mammals and some prehistoric civilizations.

My question is this. Could the snakes have been alive in some of the areas very close to the ice sheets during this time period? Were these adaptations with the rattlesnakes, the crocodiles etc, a way for them to survive the colder climates brought on by the ice age? How much can a population REALLY change, genetically speaking, in the span of only a few 10's of thousands of years? The only source I can find on the ice sheets is estimated maps and generalized estimates of what temperatures were doing back then. The average accepted number I keep seeing is that overall average temperatures were lower by 10 - 40 degrees depending on area and what climate cycle was happening at the time.

Here's an forum conversation with some guy who wrote a book on pre-historic Georgia. Apparently weather hobbyists are a thing as well, he even has articles on reptile and amphibian fossils from that era.

Southeastern North America wasn't Very Cold During the Ice Age - AccuWeather.com Forums

https://markgelbart.wordpress.com/tag/giant-tortoise/

How far north did reptiles, snakes in particular live during this time? Particularly out west? I'm gonna try and do some more research and see what I come back with as I think it is certainly interesting in better understanding more in general.

Doug 351 · 08-02-17, 05:09 PM

This information came from a TV show I watched. The whole point of the research was to figure out how these rattlesnakes could survive in the climate they were in..

I wish I could offer more, but it's been a few years.

jjhill001 · 08-02-17, 09:04 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Doug 351

This information came from a TV show I watched. The whole point of the research was to figure out how these rattlesnakes could survive in the climate they were in..

I wish I could offer more, but it's been a few years.

Hehe, I always hate that. Sucks that a lot of the older sites with interesting reptile information is gone, old books aren't at the library anymore etc. Random one off tips from actual breeders at shows and such.