Reptile & Amphibian Forums

hey gang. i was just wondering if these gophers from Northern and Southern Cal. tolerate a milder or shorter cooling period, considering their natural range...??

thanks much.

byron.d

Wow! Great question! Conversely, you have to wonder about the other 2 desert species of Gopher found here in CA as well (affinis & deserticola) because the deserts in their natural region can drop into the 20s. Are there cooling requirements different from SDs & Pacs? I have noticed that my WC E. Palmdale Great Basin will stop eating for about a month (Dec 11-'06 to Jan 8-'07), and when she came out she would only eat smaller meals (hoppers as opposed to the rat pups she was taking before). I had a WC Sepulveda Basin San Diego male that wanted to stay up all winter and eat rats no matter what the temps were (I couldn't get his tank temps below 67F). If there's somebody on here who's bred WC Pacifics or San Diego's I'd love to know what their experience was w/ cooling.

reako45

thanks for your input. I've caught SD's from the coastal Long Beach / Palos Verdes area that would stay very active and eat through the winter as well AND breed the following season. A couple of males would go off feed for just over a month but remain pretty active. I would cool like pythons - just turn off the heat and leave the window open at night... They were rock solid animals.
I've never worked with the Pacifics but considering their range and habitat I think they would very similar..... Maybe even requiring less of a cooling period.

Thanks again.
byron.d

We used to cool both our Pacific gophers and Sonorans at 54 degrees from late Oct. to early Feb.
Dont know if this helps, but good luck!

JasonMc

It does. Thanks.

I know that most breeders will cool them like all other gophers and bulls, but the reason I ask is because I'm trying to find out if they really require the same burmation period and temps as other gophers...

byron.d