Posted by:
tbrock
at Sun Dec 5 10:08:20 2010 [ Email Message ] [ Show All Posts by tbrock ]
Lloyd, I can't really speak on the blues and caves - but Terry Cox (ratsnakehaven) posted a nice response, under your original post below, which I think gives some good insight.
Reading his response and thinking more about it - has given me some ideas for this year's brumation of the bimacs and beauties. I don't think snakes really go to sleep during any type of cooling / brumation, and even less at warmer temps in the 60's. In the past when I cooled my Asians in the fridge, I would often find the diones actively cruising their tubs at temps in the high 40's / low 50's. They slow down, but still occasionally drink water and will also slough during brumation. The beauties and bimacs were less active in the fridge than the diones. Reading Terry's post, I have ideas regarding feeding and thermoregulation for the bimacs and beauties for this year's warmish brumation.
I cooled a pair of adult northern green rats (Senticolis triaspis intermedia) last year, in my snake room in unheated room conditions - usually with the window slightly open. I had read that this species needs a warm spot during brumation, so I left the heat tape in their rack on for the duration of the winter. During warm spells I would warm the room up and feed the green rats - allow them to digest for a couple weeks, or until the next good cold front, and then cool the room down again. I did this at least three separate times - and I did not really expect them to be able to produce good eggs (or maybe not even breed) with this sporadic cooling. However, they bred and produced not only one good clutch of eggs but two healthy clutches! Terry has said that he occasionally feeds his bimacs during the winter and gives them heat for digestion - so I am thinking this is probably the route I will take with all of my snakes this year - not just the green rats.
I based my feeding the green rats, during brumation, on how active they were during warm spells. I worried about them losing weight, so I fed them. If I was cooling the blues and caves in the 60's, I would probably look for signs of them being active. If they become very active, I might warm them up and feed them. If not, then I might just continue cooling them. If the temps are constant in the 60's, you might want to just cool them without feeding.
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-Toby Brock
Southwestern Center for Herpetological Research
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RE: More on Brumating Beauty Snakes. - tbrock, Sun Dec 5 10:08:20 2010