Posted by:
bms619
at Wed Jan 30 13:53:20 2008 [ Email Message ] [ Show All Posts by bms619 ]
Ty for your response and input..I know an experiment with a sample of 3 won't make any science journal but results can be thought provoking..lots of variables tho! Ok, to respond as best I can to your points!I keep the snakes in my utility room so when the boiler goes on it incresases the room temperature above the thermostat temp set at 70 degrees; the range of room temp is 76-81 degrees over 24 hour period. I have 6 Pueblan hatchlings in the room; three have been strong eaters since i got them in early fall '07 and have not changed their eating behavior at all during these colder months;... the other three I addressed in this post... Some details re: the two I brumated: One I had for about 6 weeks before it went off feeding; it was a strong feeder until around early Nov. The other one was second clutch and sporatic feeder from get-go.I housed both in separate Lock and lock plastic containers as sold in Walmarts,8in x 6 in x 2.5in with plenty of 1/8 inch holes punched in both ends and lid..a heating element under 2 inches of each cage. A room temp of 81 degrees produces a inside cage temp of 78 degrees at cool end and 90 degrees under the heating element..rare to find either snake sitting on the heated end, usually down at the other end under newspaper which covers the bottom of the whole cage..water bowl and hide box in each cage but snakes seem to prefer going under the newspaper ....you mentioned I brumated for 5 weeks ..no, it was 21 days at 60 degrees in dark with 5 days geting them down to 60 degrees and 5 days coming back up to low 80s ...Im leaning toward thinking the brumation did the trick and that a shorter brumation than generally recommended is adequate..I'm assuming that 60 day criteria is a formula to address brumating for breeding purposes; that a snake going off feed because of a seasonal response can be brumated for a shorter period to recover the feeding response...
[ Hide Replies ]
|
RE: Experiment...with a sample of 3 - bms619, Wed Jan 30 13:53:20 2008