Seasonal guides · Data updated October 2026

When are snakes active?

Snakes follow the temperature. In most of the southern US they come out in late winter or early spring, peak in spring and fall, hunt at night through the hottest weeks, and spend the coldest months in brumation.

Snake coiled in dry grass, warming in the sun
A snake resting in grass. Basking is how snakes raise their body temperature after a cool night.

What is brumation?

Snakes and other reptiles cannot make their own body heat, so their temperature tracks the air and ground around them. As fall cools, snakes become sluggish and move into sheltered spots below the frost line: rock crevices, stumps, old root channels, animal burrows and crayfish holes. There they enter brumation, a winter dormancy in which their metabolism slows sharply. Extension guides put the slowdown at around 60°F (16°C), with dormancy following when temperatures stay below about 56°F (13°C).

Brumation differs from a mammal’s hibernation in that snakes stay somewhat alert. On a run of warm winter days a snake may leave its den to bask, then return when it turns cold. Several species sometimes share one overwintering site. The bigger winter risk for snakes is often drying out rather than freezing, which is why sheltered, humid dens matter. In Texas, most snakes leave their dens in late February or early March. Do snakes hibernate?

Sources

Data updated October 2026 · How we build these pages