Posted by:
monklet
at Sun Oct 31 17:59:36 2010 [ Email Message ] [ Show All Posts by monklet ]
Good question. You're probably not the first one here to have such a dilemna. I myself am in a similar situation. I have had some experiences lately that may be somewhat telling.
One of my Northern Pines went off feed and just hung out in the back of the closet for 117 days, rarely coming out for a drink, although I made several attempts to feed here. The temps there probably averaged around 63-70F most of that time during the warm season. She finally shed, then went back on feed, eating like a pig for 24 days, before laying down a scent trail, which was obvious by the reaction of some of the males, and utlimately mated ate one more meal, shed, then layed a clutch of 10 healthy eggs.
This suggests a couple things to me.
1. The self-imposed, "off season" brumation was very likely a result of messed up seasonality due to captive conditions.
2. Temps don't have to be all that low, just low enough to slow metabolism - she lost weight but never got skinny.
So, maybe the lowest coolest spot in the house will be sufficient if dark and free of disturbance.
Here is here SerpenTrack record for that period. Unfortunately I didn't weigh here regularly during that time ...oh well.
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 See all my snakes at SerpenTrack.com
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RE: How should I go about brumating.. - monklet, Sun Oct 31 17:59:36 2010