Are snakes cold-blooded reptiles ?
Cold-blooded organisms (called "poikilotherms") maintain their body temperatures in ways different from mammals and birds. The term is now outdated in scientific contexts. Cold-blooded creatures were, initially, presumed to be incapable of maintaining their body temperatures at all. They were presumed to be "slaves" to their environments. Whatever the environmental temperature was, so too was their body temperature. Cold-blooded animals are now called ectotherms, for the term cold-blooded is misleading.
Cold-blooded creatures take on the temperature of their surroundings. They are hot when their environment is hot and cold when their environment is cold. In hot environments, cold-blooded animals can have blood that is much warmer than warm-blooded animals. Cold-blooded animals are much more active in warm environments and are very sluggish in cold environments. This is because their muscle activity depends on chemical reactions which run quickly when it is hot and slowly when it is cold. A cold-blooded animal can convert much more of its food into body mass compared with a warm-blooded animal.
Cold-blooded animals often like to bask in the sun to warm up and increase their metabolism. While basking, reptiles will lie perpendicular to the direction of the sun to maximize the amount of sunlight falling on their skin. They will also expand their rib cage to increase their surface area and will darken their skin to absorb more heat. When a reptile is too hot, it will lie parallel to the sun's rays, go into a shady area, open its mouth wide, lighten its skin color or burrow into cool soil. Some cold-blooded animals, such as bees or dragonflies, shiver to stay warm when in a cold environment. Fish who live in areas where the winters are cold move to deeper waters during the colder months or migrate to warmer waters. Some fish have a special protein in their blood which acts like anti-freeze to help them survive very cold water temperatures. Snakes, lizards, toads, frogs, salamanders and most turtles will hibernate during cool winters. Some insects die when it gets too cold, however others survive by migrating to warmer areas or moving underground. Honeybees stay warm by crowding together and moving their wings to generate heat.
Being cold-blooded, however, also has its advantages. Cold-blooded animals require much less energy to survive than warm-blooded animals do. Mammals and birds require much more food and energy than do cold-blooded animals of the same weight. This is because in warm-blooded animals, the heat loss from their bodies is proportional to the surface area of their bodies, while the heat created by their bodies is proportional to their mass. The ratio of a body's surface area to its mass is less the larger the animal is. This means that larger warm-blooded animals can generate more heat than they loose and more easily keep their body temperatures stable. Smaller warm-blooded animals loose heat more quickly. So, it is easier to stay warm by being larger. Warm-blooded animals cannot be too small or else they will loose heat faster than they can produce it.
Cold-blooded creatures take on the temperature of their surroundings. They are hot when their environment is hot and cold when their environment is cold. In hot environments, cold-blooded animals can have blood that is much warmer than warm-blooded animals. Cold-blooded animals are much more active in warm environments and are very sluggish in cold environments. This is because their muscle activity depends on chemical reactions which run quickly when it is hot and slowly when it is cold. A cold-blooded animal can convert much more of its food into body mass compared with a warm-blooded animal.
Cold-blooded animals often like to bask in the sun to warm up and increase their metabolism. While basking, reptiles will lie perpendicular to the direction of the sun to maximize the amount of sunlight falling on their skin. They will also expand their rib cage to increase their surface area and will darken their skin to absorb more heat. When a reptile is too hot, it will lie parallel to the sun's rays, go into a shady area, open its mouth wide, lighten its skin color or burrow into cool soil. Some cold-blooded animals, such as bees or dragonflies, shiver to stay warm when in a cold environment. Fish who live in areas where the winters are cold move to deeper waters during the colder months or migrate to warmer waters. Some fish have a special protein in their blood which acts like anti-freeze to help them survive very cold water temperatures. Snakes, lizards, toads, frogs, salamanders and most turtles will hibernate during cool winters. Some insects die when it gets too cold, however others survive by migrating to warmer areas or moving underground. Honeybees stay warm by crowding together and moving their wings to generate heat.
Being cold-blooded, however, also has its advantages. Cold-blooded animals require much less energy to survive than warm-blooded animals do. Mammals and birds require much more food and energy than do cold-blooded animals of the same weight. This is because in warm-blooded animals, the heat loss from their bodies is proportional to the surface area of their bodies, while the heat created by their bodies is proportional to their mass. The ratio of a body's surface area to its mass is less the larger the animal is. This means that larger warm-blooded animals can generate more heat than they loose and more easily keep their body temperatures stable. Smaller warm-blooded animals loose heat more quickly. So, it is easier to stay warm by being larger. Warm-blooded animals cannot be too small or else they will loose heat faster than they can produce it.
Snakes, in fact all reptiles and vetebrates of lower classes, are poikilothermic i.e. they are cold-blooded animals. These animals change their temperature according to their environment. If the environment is hot, their body temp is hot and if the environment is cool, they have low body temp. Due to this, their metabolic rate also changes with seasons. Metabolism is low in winters and thus they undergo a phase of inertia which we term as hibernation. On the arrival of summer the metabolic rate increases leading to an active life.
On the other hand, humans and other mammals are homoiothermic i.e. warm-blooded. They adapt well to the temperature of their surroundings whether hot or cold. Their metabolism does not register any remarkable change due to change in the season. Thus, their life is more regular throughout the year.
On the other hand, humans and other mammals are homoiothermic i.e. warm-blooded. They adapt well to the temperature of their surroundings whether hot or cold. Their metabolism does not register any remarkable change due to change in the season. Thus, their life is more regular throughout the year.
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