Heat pits?

Ok very silly question here but on a Ball Python the heat sensing pits are very easy to see they are right on their upper lip (if you wanna call it a lip).

I was looking closely at Jay's face tonight and I saw nothing that looked like heat pits. Do they have them or do they just operate off of smell and sight?

not a silly question. i wanna know to....

I'm pretty sure BCI's don't have heat pits, but don't take my word for it...

started looking, not answering the ?, but is a graphic picture of a BCI. warning:the picture is of a snake cut open, so if you have a weak stomach, dont click it. the snake died from an RI, tells the story in the link

oops i guess i 4got the link, lol here it is:

http://www.reptilerooms.co.uk/Sectio...37-page-1.html

They do have heat sensing scales per say. These are simpler not like a bp or an ETB's heat pits.

Read the paragraph under Description from the National Zoo here: http://nationalzoo.si.edu/Animals/Re...onstrictor.cfm

I'll see whatelse i can dig up.

Good info thanks guys :D

The name "Python" is derived from the "pits" on their faces. Think of them as "pit-thons".

Boas, not being "pythons" don't have the obvious pits. They have, as already said, more subtle heat sensing cells.

And there's our little taxonomy moment for the day. :wink:

Hope I didn't totally screw that up.

Ken

i posted this subject to dr alan, from alexhuereptiles.com forums and heres what he said:

rex322 wrote:
my BCI is healthy, but i was wondering something. do they sense heat like BPs? and if so where are their heat pits? thx


That's a great question! Yes they do sense heat, and while the heat pits are smaller and not as dramatically prominent in boas as in some pythons, you will find them on the margins of the upper and lower jaws.

AWESOME INFO!!!

And th pics were interesting too. Makes you look at your snake differently...

Good stuff to know :P

Just a point though, Emerald Tree Boas have quite pronounced heat pits.