# Are snakes non-nocturnal animals? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [May 26, 2010, 2:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-snakes-non-nocturnal-animals/540784 "2010-05-26T02:36:34Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 11\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Diamonds02](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b5a626/32.png) [@Diamonds02](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diamonds02)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2010, 2:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-snakes-non-nocturnal-animals/540784/1 "2010-05-26T02:36:34Z")
I remember someone telling me this. That snakes don’t come out at night. I have never heard anything else about this, one way or the other. ---
**Author:** ![hogarth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hogarth/32/1773_2.png) [@hogarth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hogarth)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2010, 2:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-snakes-non-nocturnal-animals/540784/2 "2010-05-26T02:45:04Z")
[Pit vipers](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crotalinae) are certainly nocturnal (most of them, anyways, according to Wikipedia). ---
**Author:** ![DHMO](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ecc23a/32.png) [@DHMO](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DHMO)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2010, 2:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-snakes-non-nocturnal-animals/540784/3 "2010-05-26T02:45:23Z")
Snakes, and all reptiles and amphibians, are ectothermic (cold-blooded), and cannot function when the ambient temperature is too low. > **[What is a Cold Blooded Animal? (with pictures)](https://www.allthingsnature.org/what-is-a-cold-blooded-animal.htm)** > > A cold blooded animal does not have an internal mechanism for regulating body temperature. As a result, cold blooded animals often... Since daylight is usually warmer, that is the time most reptiles will be active. That does not mean they are completely non-nocturnal, but it is highly unlikely you would encounter any reptiles at night. ---
**Author:** ![lissener](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lissener/32/6139_2.png) [@lissener](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lissener)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2010, 2:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-snakes-non-nocturnal-animals/540784/4 "2010-05-26T02:46:23Z")
Most snakes do not come out at night. Most reptiles in fact. They require heat from the sun to raise their body temperature so that they can metabolize, etc. Of course there are exceptions. But most reptiles are diurnal. ---
**Author:** ![Myglaren](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f1d935/32.png) [@Myglaren](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Myglaren)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2010, 5:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-snakes-non-nocturnal-animals/540784/5 "2010-05-26T05:59:36Z")
I’d say the majority are crepuscular. ---
**Author:** ![Blake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/a9a28c/32.png) [@Blake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Blake)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2010, 6:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-snakes-non-nocturnal-animals/540784/6 "2010-05-26T06:08:12Z")
There are large numbers of nocturnal snakes. The pit vipers, most pythons and miscellaneous other snakes will quite happily hunt at night. > [@DHMO](#): > > …it is highly unlikely you would encounter any reptiles at night. That’s wrong for the vast majority of people in the the world. Most people live in the tropics/subtropics and nocturnal reptiles are commonplace. Moral: don’t assume the whole world is like your backyard. It isn’t. ---
**Author:** ![naita](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/naita/32/5862_2.png) [@naita](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/naita)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2010, 6:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-snakes-non-nocturnal-animals/540784/7 "2010-05-26T06:43:41Z")
_diurnal_ - active mostly in the daytime ---
**Author:** ![lynne-42](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lynne-42/32/3138_2.png) [@lynne-42](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lynne-42)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2010, 9:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-snakes-non-nocturnal-animals/540784/8 "2010-05-26T09:48:15Z")
I have often seen snakes at night here in southern Australia. Usually hot nights in summer, but even once on quite a cool, rainy night. No-one around here would drop their snake guard just because of nightfall. You are less likely to see them at night, so that would also skew the statistics of when they are seen. ---
**Author:** ![Blake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/a9a28c/32.png) [@Blake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Blake)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2010, 10:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-snakes-non-nocturnal-animals/540784/9 "2010-05-26T10:09:09Z")
> [@lynne-42](#): > > You are less likely to see them at night. On the plus side, this means that you are less likely to see them. On the downside, it means you are less likely to see them. :eek: ---
**Author:** ![Crotalus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crotalus/32/41_2.png) [@Crotalus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crotalus)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2010, 12:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-snakes-non-nocturnal-animals/540784/10 "2010-05-26T12:11:16Z")
> [@lissener](#): > > Most snakes do not come out at night. Most reptiles in fact. They require heat from the sun to raise their body temperature so that they can metabolize, etc. Of course there are exceptions. But most reptiles are diurnal. Turtles and most lizards are diurnal. Some snakes are diurnal, examples in the US would be green snakes, racers, and garter snakes, but most seem to be crepuscular, moving at dawn and dusk, particularly dusk. The most effective way to hunt for most snake species in the US is to drive slowly on rural roads just after sunset. ---
**Author:** ![Blake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/a9a28c/32.png) [@Blake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Blake)\ **Post date:** [May 26, 2010, 11:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-snakes-non-nocturnal-animals/540784/11 "2010-05-26T23:43:26Z")
> [@Crotalus](#): > > Turtles and most lizards are diurnal. Some turtles and most lizards are nocturnal. The great thing about living in water is that the temperature remains pretty constant. So most turtles are active any time. It’s really only those few turtles living in areas cold enough that they need to sunbathe to remain active that are restricted to daytime activity.