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The pictures below are of my female Hypo Honduran (Poss. Het Anery) that laid eggs for me...without any "classic" brumation (i.e. no frig time, no loss of appetite, no reduction in light cycle, or no "major" temperature change). I've been checking the eggs periodically, and the four good eggs all seem to be fertile thus far.
Ok, so I'll try and cover most of the questions that you all might have, but I welcome more inquires if I've missed something.

I've had both the male and female in question, since they were hatched (they are clutch mates) about 2 years ago. The Hondurans were not brumated any "classical" way (I know I keep stating that). They are/were kept in 1/2-20 gallon long cages, with an under the cage heat strip (or rectangular heat pad). On top of each cage there is a light (typical 24 inch, 20 watt fluorescent light) controlled by a timer which turns all the lights on at 6:30 am and off at 8:30 pm. This light period has remained constant through out the year and it coinsides almost perfectly with the summer Eastern Daylight Savings time period here in Florida. My Hondurans have kept the same relative eating schedule, about one live mouse or rat pup (sometimes two) every 4 days.

There are two environmental factors that may have varied slightly during the winter months, when comparing the conditions currently. First, the ambient temperture in the house would obviously be lower during the winter (but not much, keep in mind I live in south central Florida), I keep the ambient air in the snake room at 70 degrees F MAX at night and 85 degrees F MAX during the day, regardless of the time of year. Also, don't forget about those heat pads under each cage. Second, there is a single window (which faces north) in the room, although the blinds always remain closed.

I'm not sure how much my Hondurans weigh, nor do I know how many times they copulated. I put them together just as an experiment…I did not plan on breeding them until next year…now I’m wondering if I should put them in the frig this year or not…my first thought is, if it worked this year, then why mess with a good thing…right?

Considering these are Central American snakes after all, is it really that surprising that successful breeding is possible without a classic brumation period?

What do you gents think?

-RG

No, brumation is not required...depending on your definition of brumation. I know two people in Cleveland who feed their Hondurans throughout the winter and have successfully breed them year after year. The snakes are in a room where they get a natural light cycle. Because it gets so cold here, the temperature drops 5-10 degrees to around 62-65 F at night. The daytime temps are typically in the high 60s to low 70s.

So people might consider this slight cooling brumation. Others will say that if the snakes are feeding, then they're not brumating.

I will point out that I cool my Hondurans with my other colubrids - it's simply a matter of convenience. I will also say that the breeders mentioned above feed their animals less frequently during the winter months (every 7-10 days).

Tim

Third Eye

to produce viable sperm. What that temp is exactly, I'm not sure. There is likely a suitable range where sperm production/viability is optimum.

Too cold of temps = dead sperm. Too high of temps = dead sperm. Giving the snakes a larger enclosure with a range of temps and let them determine what they need = probable successful reproduction.

Following a "recipe" for snake reproduction is what everyone wants. But no person knows what the snakes know. Give the snakes temp ranges and let them decide what they need. You'd be surprised what happens. Snakes basking in Winter? Yes, sometimes. Snakes staying in very cool areas after feeding? Happens too. All sorts of behaviors that individual snakes do to get whatever result they are trying to get.

Instead, we stuff them in small enclosures for 20 years and force temps on them that are reasonable perhaps but may not be what they need to do the best they can do for us.

I'm all for exploiting the snakes to produce offspring for us to sell. But I'm also all for doing it right, and most of us like me really have no clue what that is exactly. If we let the snakes tell us by giving them a range of conditions, then we'll get the most and best babies from it, IMO.

I never thought about sperm being produced in the ideal temp like that before. Only thought that cooling was necessary - but to what extreme? Maybe most people typically cool to much and for too long when only a few degrees would do just fine ... (65-75 for a few weeks?)

I like how you put that in a thermal gradient the snakes will act naturally .. its very true and something that would definitley benifit those who offer it. Maybe we make things a little to complex when the snakes can get them selves ready on their own if we let them.

I am curious to know if those breeders who have had success without brumating use thermal gradients with a low ambient room temp.

I think your position on this is well-taken. I believe many would agree, including the more "prominent", if you will, Honduran breeders out there, that this has been, by history, a topic of debate and speculation. Considering the tropical nature of these S. American species, as well as other forms (arcifera, abnorma, polyzona, oligozona, and even campbelli and sinaloae to name a few...), it is surmisable that just the environment you've provided (temperature-wise, of course) was effective and likely more realistic than a drop to 55 degrees F for 3 or 4 months, which, in reality, is NOT what the Central and South Americas offer in climate. I've personally tried this years ago, and it has worked effectively year after year with the same success as the typical (and more breeder-easy) 90-120 day drop in temperature. I've also found that (again, personal experiences) the occasional double clutch with utilizing this brumation method yielded better results, as opposed to the latter which sometimes demonstrated a greater frequency of females becoming egg-bound. Coincidence? Possibly. But after almost 15 years of trial and error leads me to conclude that this method is likely to be much easier for these forms of triangulum to tolerate, with the ability to yield similar if not the very same results in comparison to the "easier" temperature plunge method of mass colubrid brumation.

I agree. The biggest benefit to of this "non-classic" brumation is the ability to keep the snakes eating throughout the year and thus growing the entire winter. For most large scale breeders, I think they would find this method unacceptable...because they need a break!
For me, I think I'm going to try this "non-classic" method again next year with a slight variation; I'm going to reduce the light cycle to match the outside daylight period. I feel that the light cycle is just as, if not more, important than temperature.
I am currently trying to double clutch the Hypo female with my male Ghost. I will post any successful progress on that pairing in the future.
-RG

But in the tropics, close to the equator, the light cycle is pretty even. Even in the off seasons, it is the same amount of light. The only difference is the amount of rain: rainy season vs dry season. So is the humidity a factor, instead of light or temps?

The reason that I know this is because we lived in Panama for a while when I was younger.
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phflame
kingsnake.com host

Light change is important for most plants to flower and animals to come into estrus (for mammals)...what do you call it for snakes, just ovulation?

I did a quick check to see the difference in light cycle between Honduras and Florida, shown below. Florida is about 2 X more drastic when it comes to light increase/decrease during the year. The point I'm making is, light is another piece of the puzzle for triggering a breeding response. Even in Honduras there are changes in daylight times over the year. Obviously, as you approach the equator, this diminishes.
Is temperature more important or just as important...I guess that remains to be seen.

The big question is what factor or factors that trigger successful Honduran breeding (or Central American Colubrids)?

I've heard an increase in feeding, cooler temps, light cycle changes are all factors...but which ones are essential and what are the ideal ranges for each?

I think most people believe you have to have a temperature range conducive for sperm production and the female must be triggered for egg ovulation.

But this is a very interesting subject in my opinion...and hopefully this brumation subject can be better defined in the future.

Any herpetologist want to chime in here...if not this sounds like a great Thesis idea.

-RG

Honduras

Jun 21, 2006 6:22 AM 7:19 PM
Total Hours = 12 h 57 mins

Dec 21, 2006 6:08 AM 5:26 PM
Total Hours = 11 h 18 mins

Difference = 1h 39 mins

Florida

Jun 21, 2006 6:30 AM 8:15 PM
Total Hours = 13 h 45 mins

Dec 22, 2006 7:04 AM 5:35 PM
Total Hours = 10 h 31 mins

Difference = 3h 14 mins