Pay attention to temperature, humidity and ventilation
Winter is a season when food is scarce for wild snakes. In order to reduce their own energy consumption as much as possible and spend their energy safely, During this season, they choose to hibernate. But hibernation is not completely safe, and some snakes may die during hibernation. Your pet snake also needs to pay attention to many related issues when overwintering.
Generally speaking, snakes will gradually enter hibernation in early October, and the hibernation time is about 150 to 160 days. So how can we ensure that the snake can survive this long or short period of time safely? First of all, the main thing the company should do is to pay attention to optimizing their living environment. When arranging the snake's living place, you must consider the issue of lighting and temperature. You can place the basin in a sunny place. Of course, it is best to have curtains so that you can control it. Snakes will instinctively look for the best habitat to avoid low temperatures. Generally, there are very few snakes living alone, and fewer male and female snakes in caves. Most snakes hibernate in groups of seven, eight or dozens. Hibernating in groups can increase the temperature of caves. 3℃～5℃. In order to help snakes survive the winter safely, consideration should be given to making the place larger so that snakes can hibernate in groups. If it is raised alone, some space can be appropriately reduced.
Another thing to pay attention to is to control the temperature and humidity. To design and construct a place for overwintering snakes, the three conditions of temperature, humidity, and air circulation must be met, that is, the temperature should be stable at 10°C to 12°C, and the relative humidity should be controlled at 70% to 90%. According to the above requirements, it is best to build an underground snake room for overwintering snakes. The snake room is surrounded by bricks and has two inner and outer walkways. The door connecting the snake room to the outside world is opened in an "S" shape. There is a movable ventilation cover on the top of the snake room. The surrounding and top of the snake room are covered with 1.0 to 1.5 meters. Thick soil layer. Snakes can be placed in wooden boxes or tanks with built-in overwintering rooms for the winter, or a layer of fine sand can be spread on the ground (do not spread straw), and hibernating snakes can be placed directly on the sand to survive the winter.
Provide adequate diet
Provide adequate diet: Increase the amount of bait appropriately so that the snakes are well fed and have sufficient physical strength to withstand the severe cold. Fresh fish, frogs, lizards, birds, mice and other small mammals are suitable as bait. If it is a venomous snake, stop collecting venom from it temporarily. Venom is an important digestive fluid for snakes. It circulates continuously in the body and promotes metabolism. Never capture a snake while it is hibernating and forcefully absorb its venom. Otherwise, the snake's body will be damaged, functional recovery will be affected, and death will occur.
Pay attention to temperature control. Strictly control the room temperature of the overwintering snake room between 10℃ and 12℃. When it is low, use a steam pipe or electric heating wire to raise the temperature. When it is high, you can open the top ventilator and open the "S" door. Introducing fresh cold air while expelling harmful carbon monoxide and carbon dioxide gases. The room temperature should not rise or fall suddenly. It should be kept at a constant temperature. Otherwise, snakes will die in large numbers because they cannot adapt to drastic changes in temperature. The cover of the snake nest can be covered with 20 cm thick straw, and the passage door of the snake nest should be closed tightly to prevent cold air from blowing in. When the outside temperature drops to zero degrees Celsius, cold-proof measures should be taken, that is, hay, paper scraps, old sacks or torn cotton batting should be placed in each snake room for insulation. You can also hang an appropriate amount of 25-watt blue light bulbs to increase the temperature.
Food, humidity, temperature, and ventilation are several key elements that allow snakes to survive the winter safely. It can be said that none of them is missing. Although we may not be able to cover everything, we must try to control every aspect.