Many people ask themselves if snakes sleep and if they also
dream. However, it is hard to tell if a snake sleeps or not,
especially since it will not close its eyes. Sleep is the
behavior which will involve an immobile posture and decreased
responsiveness to arousing stimulus like light and noise. The
method used for sleep is slowing of the brain-waves. The studies
on how a snake sleeps have found out that sleep comes in waves
in snakes, at least 16 hours every day, and this may increase to
20 hours after the feeding. Such waves correspond with a slower
heart rate, slower breathing, muscle relaxation, and lowered
behavioral response.
The snakes have a circadian rhythm, and this is when they are
totally active at a certain period of time. There are some
snakes that are completely diurnal while others are completely
nocturnal. However, others are found in between. Others will be
active in the night or in the day according to the season. This
is why it is hard to talk about how long the snake can sleep.
Sometimes the snakes may exhibit sleep-like behaviors such as
staying in one place for some hours, days and sometimes weeks
without moving. However, the snake may exhibit this behavior
when in reality it is foraging. A snake in this position may be
waiting for prey, ready to ambush, envenomate or strike, and it
will be fully aware of its surrounding. During this time, the
snake will not sleep but will be completely attentive.
The eyes of the snakes do not have eyelids and they are covered
by clear scales in the wild and in captivity. A motionless snake
may never twitch and all signs that seem to show that an animal
is sleeping like irregular heartbeat and breathing may just be
normal to the snake. Since a snake will not be able to hear loud
noises or see bright lights, it is hard to known when it is
sleeping because it won’t react.
It is known that snakes do sleep, but what is not clear is for
how long, how deep it can sleep, if it has a paradoxical sleep
or not, and if it dreams. The sleep pattern is also different
for various species of snakes. The snakes may also yawn but only
as a way of gathering chemical cues or repositioning the
musculoskeletal elements, which are not the same reasons that
humans yawn. Sleep is important in the human biology, but the
benefits of sleep in snakes are not well studied and more
information is needed.
Snakes may sleep in burrows in the ground or even trees.
For more information about how do snakes sleep, go to my Snake
Removal - How to Get Rid of Snakes home page.
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Where can I get free snake removal?
Do snakes hibernate?
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