Just before Thanksgiving, we made the decision to bring Jafar home for a while. The room at CCA was getting too cold which prevented us from keeping his terrarium at the appropriate temperature. Remember snakes are cold blooded. This means they lack mechanisms that enable them to regulate their internal body temperature. When the temperature drops, the internal temperature of snakes and other reptiles drop also. They are unable to shiver or increase metabolic rates in order to maintain a constant body temperature the way that mammals do. Snakes must move to a warmer area. In the wild, this may mean they find a warm rock to bask in the sunlight or they may burrow under a warm rock. Likewise, if the temperature gets too hot, they must find a cooler spot to lounge.
As a pet, Jafar's terrarium must have a temperature gradient. One side should remain cool - between about 75 C -80 C and the "hot" side should be about 82 C - 87 C with a "Warming" spot of about 90 C.
He seems to be doing well but misses everyone who stopped in to say hello while he was at CCA. Jafar hopes to come back to CCA after Christmas break some time.
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