So when I drink water I always like cold water even if I’m in a cold environment. But that makes sense because I’m a warm blooded creature.
On the other hand snakes are cold blooded and they require external warmth so I could see them prefering warm drinking water. At the same time though, in a natural environment any water they drank would be cooler than the air so maybe cooler water would feel more normal. Also in a properly setup terarium a snake has ample access to warmth from other sources so they don’t really need the additional heat from warm drinking water so maybe having cool water would be a nice change and allow better temp regulation. But warm water also has the side benefit of helping boost humidity.
Anyways, this is just what I decided to overthink today. I’m also not talking actually hot or cold, just lukewarm or cool. What do you all think? Would my pet snake prefer to have their water dish topped up with cool or warm water?
My pet snake likes to take a nice long soak after she eats. She also likes to take massive shits in her water. My hunch is that she prefers lukewarm, but too warm makes her freak out. California Kingsnake.
Overall, I’d imagine it depends on the species. A desert snake will be pickier than a snake in more moderate regions.
Mine is a ball python. They seem to prefer basking under the heat lamp after eating. Also they haven’t ever pooped in their water dish that I can remember, but I have had them horf up a partially digested rat in there before. That incident was made even more pleasant by the fact that I had their heat lamp positioned over the water dish at the time (to try and keep humidity up) and it happened while I was sleeping so I didn’t catch it for several hours. So I awoke to my entire house being filled with the miasma of a partially digested rat which had been stewing under a heat lamp for several hours. The smell was indescribable and beyond the imagination of any sane individual.