Have you ever looked at your pet snake and thought “how long can they stay still for?” this isn’t just relaxing but the snake is more than likely asleep but with the lack of eyelids, snake cannot shut their eyes.
You will notice if you have woken a snake up because if something moves past their eyes, you will see them jump and if you look close enough, the snake’s eyes will be ore vigilant about their surroundings.
It is yet unknown exactly how long snakes will sleep for as it varies from species to species, but all snakes do sleep and do so often. Snakes will begin to sleep more frequently after large meals as this conserves energy and allows a snake’s body to solely concentrate on digesting their meal.
As previously mentioned, snakes do not have eyelids, so you would think it is hard for a snake to initiate their sleep, but this is built into their brain to find a comfortable position and zone out before getting into a deep sleep.
If snakes don’t have eyelids how do, they get dirt and infections?
This is a completely valid question; snakes’ eyes are not actually open to the fresh air but have a layer of skin over the top known as “spectacles” this thin layer of skin is shed at the same time when the full body shedding process happens.
If you have a pet snake, next time they shed their skin, it is important that the eye shed has come off cleanly otherwise this can cause infections and sight problems for your snake.
Waking Up A Snake
This is one of the reasons for a snake mistakenly biting their owner.
It is so easy to miss that your snake is sleep and if you are going into their cage and touch them, rightly so they jump and often times react in an defensive way and protect themselves.
The best tip to avoid this is to let your pet snake that is sleeping know you are there before getting too close to the head. Simply give a gentle touch on the lower portion of the body or touch with a snake hook if you are little less confident.
Doing this will keep you and your snake happier and prevents being bit by a sleeping snake!
When do snakes sleep?
The sleeping routine of a snake is thought to be that similar of a human, but the times vary dependant on the snake species. A snake that is nocturnal will sleep during the day and hunt during the dark hours.
Others will be daytime hunter and sleep during the night-time.
A snake will sleep anywhere between 2 – 8 hours a day sometimes longer after large meals.
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