Snakes- JG

Thermoregulation in an ectotherm: Snake

•	Homeostasis is the process of maintaining a consistent environment inside the body.

•	Thermoregulation is an organism’s ability to maintain its temperature; ectotherms use the external environment to maintain their internal environment as they have no internal means of regulating metabolic function. •	In cold weather, snakes tend to be sluggish as their metabolisms slow down, whereas in warm weather they tend to eat more and move more quickly. Ectothermic animals don’t get their energy from caloric intake the way warm-blooded animals, or endotherms, do. This allows ectotherms the survival advantage of being able to go longer without meals.

•	Like other reptiles, snakes are most active during the day, using the sun’s rays to warm their bodies as they hunt for food or simply bask in the sunlight. The heat of the sun speeds up the metabolism, giving them energy and helping them to digest their food.

•	They will also hide in shady spots or burrow underground during the hottest part of the day to avoid overheating. Snakes usually spend cold weather months underground in a state of hibernation, during which their metabolism becomes very slow, allowing them to sleep for weeks without food.

•	Oppositely to warm up their internal temperatures, snakes lie in the sun for long periods of the day, resting on large hot rocks so the conduction of the heat will increase body temperature and keep them warm during the day.

•	 If an ectotherm needs to cool itself down it may take water from lakes and rivers. It may also use cool ground or the cool water to rest in allowing the conduction of the cooler surface to cool them down.

•	Snakes use behavioural adaptations to regulate their body heat. Including movement into a cold or a hot location at different times depending on whether they need to be hotter or colder, the snake has no biological way of regulating temperature; therefore behavioural adjustments are made daily.