Leon Gee, age 8, of Florence, South Carolina, for his question:

How do snakes spend the winter?

A snake cannot abide the cold. Winter weather makes him slow and lazy, and when it gets frosty he cannot move at all. So every fall he gets ready for the chilly days ahead. He finds a cozy den where he will be sheltered from the cold. Maybe he chooses an empty pocket under the roots of a tree or the deserted burrow of a mole or rabbit. He crawls inside and coils himself into a tight ball. Then he falls into a deep sleep called hibernation. While he hibernates, his heart beat and his breathing slow down almost to a stop    but not quite.

As long as the winter weather lasts outdoors, he does not move. But many snakes live where the weather is warm throughout the year. They do not have to hibernate through the winter. People who live where there are no cold, frosty spells may come upon a snake in the winter season . In such areas snakes go to sleep through the hottest summer spells.