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Blind or blindfolded rattlesnakes can strike prey accurately in the complete absence of visible light, [13] [14] though it does not appear that they assess prey animals based on their body temperature. [15] In addition, snakes may deliberately choose ambush sites that facilitate infrared detection of prey.
Thermographic image: a cold-blooded snake is shown eating a warm-blooded mouse. Warm-blooded is an informal term referring to animal species whose bodies maintain a temperature higher than that of their environment. In particular, homeothermic species (including birds and mammals) maintain a stable body temperature by regulating metabolic processes
The snakes' face has a pair of holes, or pits, lined with temperature sensors. The sensors indirectly detect infrared radiation by its heating effect on the skin inside the pit. They can work out which part of the pit is hottest, and therefore the direction of the heat source, which could be a warm-blooded prey animal.
Snakes are cold-blooded, meaning they cannot regulate their own body temperatures like humans or other warm-blooded animals. A snake’s body temperature changes with the outside temperatures.
However, snakes do not regulate internally the temperature of their blood. Called cold-blooded, snakes actually have blood that is responsive to the varying temperature of the immediate environment. Snakes can regulate blood temperature by moving. Too long in direct sunlight, the snakes' blood is heated by beyond tolerance.
Thermoregulation is the ability of an organism to keep its body temperature within certain boundaries, even when the surrounding temperature is very different. A thermoconforming organism, by contrast, simply adopts the surrounding temperature as its own body temperature, thus avoiding the need for internal thermoregulation.
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The skin of snakes is highly sensitive to contact, tension, and pressure; they are capable of feeling pain. [65] An important function of the skin is the sensation of changes in air temperature, which can guide the snakes towards warm basking/shelter locations. [66] All snakes are ectotherms. To maintain a stable body temperature, they exchange ...