Posted by:
tspuckler
at Thu Dec 2 11:38:37 2010 [ Email Message ] [ Show All Posts by tspuckler ]
Accuracy is unimportant. This would be especially true if you are working with Central American milks, which really don't need brumation. Most breeders I know cool their snakes in the basement. During cold spells the temperature is overall cooler than during warm spells. I'm not sure if there's much day/night temperature fluctuation though.
Milk snakes, along with a number of other colubrids, can be cooled at different temperatures, for different lengths of time, and still have good reproductive results. When it comes to temperature fluctuation, I think most breeders would agree that as long as temperature changes don't occur very quickly, they're no big deal.
What I think you're asking for, "the perfect steady temperature" has not been determined. To do this, a large group of milks would need to be cooled at varying temparatures (e.g. 50 degrees, 55 degrees, 60 degrees, ect.) and then after brumation it would need to be determined what works best. As far as I know, this hasn't beed tried and it if it was, it would be of little relevance unless a pretty large group of snakes were cooled at each temperature. There also could be differences in the success rates of different subspecies under different conditions - further complicating the idea of "the perfect temperature."
I am unaware of studies have been done on wild snakes hibernating and if they experience different temperatures, but I have found Garter Snakes in November and December, when there was a break in the weather, sunning themselves. I presume they go back into hibernation after that.
Tim
Third Eye
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RE: Accuracy during brumation - tspuckler, Thu Dec 2 11:38:37 2010