Abstract
Body (BT, esophageal), air (AT), and substrate (ST) temperatures of snakes were studied at Tambabashi, Fushimi-ku, Kyoto, in the period from May 1958 to October 1969. A total of 1099 Rhabdophis tigrinus (Rt), 83 Elaphe climacophora (Ec), 44 Amphiesma vibakari (Av), and 24 Elaphe conspicillata (Econ) were measured. In mean BT, Rt (26.75°C) is not different from Ec (27.67°C), and Av (24.85°C) is not different from Econ(24.44°C). Av and Econ were not captured in the summer months. In Econ, BT correlates more with AT than with ST, whereas in the other 3 species BT correlates more with ST. The change in monthly BT of Ec resembles that of Rt in general but the ranges between maximum and minimum BT are narrower than in Rt. In Rt, the mean BT of females is significantly higher than that of males, but in the other 3 species no differences are seen between the sexes. In all 4 species no differences are detected between fed and fasting snakes.
