baby garter 55 degrees?

[rwgsnakes]

i was outside at my friends house and behind his shed near a strip of woods leading to the creek, i saw a small garter roughly 13-16 inches... it was 55 degrees outside, isnt that a bit cold? i wasnt able to cath the little bugger, to fast.



is it just a freak thing or should i start herping!!!!!!??????

[Sid]

At 50 -55 degrees F. it's not uncommon to see an occasional snake or two, but most will not be out of hibernation at those temps.

Sid

[abcat1993]

Will they stay out if it was in the 70's for a few days then goes down to the 40's, 50's, and maybe below freezing for a week?

[Sid]

I have to supppose they retreat back to their dens. I have had this happen often here in South Carolina and after finding a few specimens durind a couple of warm days it gets cold again and I find absolutly zip.

Sid

[Thamnophis]

The fact that it was to fast to catch says something about its bodytemperature, I guess.

[greyhawk]

Where do you live rwg? Snakes up north come out at lower temps. The other day in Massachusetts, as I posted earlier, I found 7 garters and the temp was 58. I picked them up and they were very warm because they are dark and absorb a lot of solar radiation while basking.

[rwgsnakes]

o cool, i didnt know that,

The fact that it was to fast to catch says something about its bodytemperature, I guess.

i never even thought of that


greyhawk-

i live in PA so i guess it might be that they come out a little earlier

[ssssnakeluvr]

garter snakes are very cold tolerant. On animal planet's most extreme shows, there was one on party animals...showed red sided garters coming out in snow to start breeding....