Quote Originally Posted by Skiploder View Post
Ever thought that since temps and digestion go hand in hand that we are stimulating them to consume more by providing them 92 degree hot spots to lay on?
Sure I have - every time I look at an annual climate map of their home area. You mostly see average highs in the low-upper 80s and average lows in the mid-upper 70s depending on the time of year.

In a perfect world, would it be cool to have a thermostat and heat source that could replicate these daily temperature fluctuations? Of course. Would that be better for their long-term health than providing them with a consistent temperature gradient that captured this range on a daily basis? I'm not sure.

In recent time, I've become quite a bit less concerned with skipped meals from the standpoint of "because they ate, I am doing things right". These days a skipped meal upsets me more from the standpoint of "I should have known better" because I'm trying to become more observant of individual snake's feeding habits. Also, because I feed mostly frozen/thawed rats, a missed meal = money wasted. I've actually changed my feeding schedule (split into two days vs one), and in-tune feeding amount (there are no longer "leftovers" to feed to snakes who already ate on that day), to reflect this mindset.