Reptile & Amphibian Forums

My GBK baby was beggining to brumate but yesterday i decided to stop him. I dont think i would be able to keep the temp needed for brumation so i thought it would be safer to keep him up. My first question is When do you think he will be fully out of hibernation since i raised the temperature yesterday? My next question is can i leave the hot side of his tank at 88 degrees day and night or is this too hot? If i leave the light off at night it will get to cold and he might start to brumate again. Should i get a weaker bulb to lower the temp? Most things i have read say 85-88 is good for the day but lower temps are good for night. Do i need to buy a thermostat? I would appreciate anyones suggestions.

Although this forum is an excellent place to get answers to your questions i really think you should consider purchasing a good book on reptile husbandry and do some reading on the topic.. There are many good titles out there.. if you need help choosing one let us know.

I was at the pet store getting things for my other pets and happened to see a kingsnake care book so i bought it. It really doesnt have any imformation which would help me out with this. It is not specifically for gbk but for all milk and kingsnakes.

Welcome to the Alterna forum and I do recommend you do some research here regarding cooling milks and kings. Enough scolding though....
I'll assume your Alterna is a young (hatchling) approx a year old and as such is not likely to be aware that it's time to brumate--my 2005s are still up and plowing through weekly meals--I won't cool them until they're either needed for breeding in 2008 or they just quit feeding on their own (maybe 2006/7). So I usually advise to not cool a juvie unless the snake refuses 2-3 meals and you're sure it's not a health issue.
Temps: 88 is a tad high. I'd target 80 /- 2 degrees year round, day and night for most kings and milks. Some will swear by night time cooling or radiant vs belly heat etc...do what works for you but let's drop the temp a bit.
I cool my Alterna right down to 55 for 4 months. This effectively stops their activity and they'll not use calories wandering around the cage. Your enemies in brumation are an active snake burning calories, too wet a cage, and too dry a cage.
55 is a stressful temp for some (tropical especially) snakes, 65 would likely work also but you'll have to experiment with your stock a bit and find what works.
Keep records on temps, feeding, activity for next year.
Good luck, Alterna are very cool little snakes (when the bas##ards feed)!! Jeff

SO i just re-read my last post & it does kinda sound like i was scolding... I just wanted to say that it was not my intention to scold... Also, i am trying to help him with his nonfeeder on the Other Kings & Milks Forum..

Hey, i was in his shoes when i first started keeping Alterna & i wish i had a forum like this to answer some of my questions!! altera around

So again i am sorry if i sounded like i was scolding.. i was not...

~ Mike Russo

You're one of the good ones Mike. I just hope Dfreid gets this figured out.
Jeff

Our '05 GBK (and our Jalisco Milk Snake) has been refusing meals after eating regularly.

The GBK has refused about 4-6 attempts at feeding (over a month) though is still basking and cruising around her cage.

I was thinking about putting her in the basement, which maintains a pretty constant temp over the winter.

What will the GBK need if I do this? Just a hide? Water? Bedding? Do I need a day/night cycle? Should I use a lower wattage bulb, just to provide some heat?

How will I be able to tell if she's surviving or dying? My son would be crushed if we screwed this up and his snake died.

Alternatively, if I don't brumate her, after a couple months or so, will she all of a sudden decide to go ahead and eat? How often should I attempt a meal?

Thanks!

Walt

Hiya Walt,
It's not typical that a 18month old milk or king stops feeding as fall moves in, my nates are pretty oblivious BUT if you've got a couple that stopped feeding, keep them/it where they are and offer food less frequently maybe every 3 weeks or when he's out looking around. AFTER the snake has refused a few meals for 6-8 weeks, it's safe to assume he's switched off and preserving body fat is the priority.
I move mine into the basement (approx 65 now) in a small cage with a tip proof water bowl, a couple inches of bedding and a couple places to hide. Waterbowls at Target have a dandy hide built in and a sheet of cardboard on the bedding is a good 2nd hide.
The basic rules:
Assure the snake has not fed for 2-4 weeks before cooling.
Shedding before cooling neatly eliminates the possibility of dry stuck on sheds later.
Assure the snake can find the water bowl. As obvious as this sounds I'm puzzled by the number of snakes that I take out of the cooler in spring that guzzle water when I dip their snouts in a bowl.
Change the bedding, decor, etc... when you warm the snake up. The cold bedding pulls so much moisture out of the air that spores grow like mad and you may have a wheezing snake.
Keep the cold room cold. Don't freeze the snake solid but 50 degrees for your Alterna is no hardship and an occasional oops to 45 is fine. 2-4 months is the norm duration, remember to check the waterbowl every 7-14 days. They usually shed just fine in the cold room but any stuck shed can be peeled later after a 30 minute soak.
They're pretty tough critters and survive plenty of abuse in our care. Tipped waterbowls, dry waterbowls, escaped for 6 months, stored at 40 for 2 weeks, etc....Word of caution, don't cool your tropical milks (Hondos, etc..)the same way, it's too stressful and usually invites resp infections.
Hope that helps, good luck with the little rat....Jeff

Thanks, Jeff!

That's just what I needed.

So... My Jalisco shouldn't brumate?? Just offer food every few weeks until he eats again?

Walt