Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hello. I am going to breed my Everglades Ratsnakes this year and am wondering what is the Ideal temperature range to brumate them at. Right now they are being kept at 60 degrees. I do have concern for my Female because she had a resperatory infection for much of 2006. I don't want to cool her any more than is necessary. I know that the Everglades Ratsnakes come from South Florida and thus think that brumating them wouldn't be the same as brumating Black Ratsnakes. Also, I am planning to brumate my Everglades Ratsnakes for about 2 months. Does this timeframe seem right?

I would appreciate any helpful advice on the subject.

I don't brumate mine at all and they do very well. My main female this year (first season for her) double-clutched with a total of 26 eggs and success rate of 88%. My other female laid a first clutch of 16 with 14 hatching and she also laid a second clutch without reintroducing a male. The second clutch had 14 eggs of which just 5 hatched.

If I had a snake with respiratory issues I would not cool her at all. I wold keep he warm and let her heal up.

If your snake was well when you cooled her off, then she should be fine. I cooled my Black Rats last season at 60F for 10 weeks and that did the trick. With an Everglades, 8 weeks in a cool dark place should do the trick.

There is one nice thing about cooling reptiles. When you slow down their metabolisms, you also slow down any virus or bacteria. It doesn't help them fight the infection, but it doesn't hurt them as much as one might think. For the most part, they are suffering from a lack of food when they are in a cooled state. Crash diets are never a good thing when you are sick.

BTW, if you haven't cooled her yet, then take Mark's advice and don't do it if she is still sick. Breeding does cause a lot of stress for the animaal, so don't try to breed her if she isn't well.