Why do snakes come out in winter?

Most people think that snakes will not wake up after hibernating in winter. In fact, this view is not correct. There are also days when the temperature is slightly higher in winter. At these times, some snakes may wake up in the sun to replenish energy, and may even have predation behavior, but this is rare.

Hibernation can be divided into three stages: entering sleep, deep sleep and leaving sleep. It takes about one to several days for the body temperature of sleeping animals to begin to drop to a stable temperature close to the ambient temperature.

The external stimulus to sleep is mainly temperature, and the upper limit of environmental temperature for various animals to sleep is very different: bat 24 ~ 28℃, hedgehog 27℃, squirrel 20 ~ 22℃, hamster 9 ~ 10℃.

Extended data:

During hibernation, animals are in a hibernating array state of alternating activity and paralysis. The activity lasts about 8 hours to 2 days. Some kinds of animals excrete or eat during this period. Most kinds of animals do not eat, but regulate some physiological balance.

Hibernating animals don't eat or drink during the hibernation season of 100 days, because they have sufficient energy reserves and their metabolism is minimized, which is 1 ~ 2% of that of active animals.

Its respiratory quotient is close to 0.7, and it mainly relies on oxidized fat to supply energy and water. Hibernating animals store 30 ~ 50% of their body weight during the fattening period, and most of them are concentrated under the skin, which not only provides energy but also keeps warm.