Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Does anyone stagger the way that they bring animals out of brumation?

Last year on a couple of projects I couldn't get my males around to as many females as I would have liked. This year I was thinking about bringing my females out of brumation in several groups each about a week apart. This way they wouldn't all ovulate at the same time and my males could get to more of them slightly later in the season.

Does anyone else do this? Or any other creative techniques?

I know some people like to bring females up first to get a few more meals into them before breeding, but my females come out of brumation in as good of condition as they went in, so I don't think that is an issue for me.

Also, just curious, whats the most females any of your males have ever SUCCESSFULLY bred?

Zack I pretty much keep an even ratio of males to females so I've never had that particular problem. What fouls me up is that sometimes my males are in a heavey sheds and not interested when the females have already shed and about to ovulate. I've always thought it would be a good idea to bring my males up a week or so early but have never tried it. In any case I think bringing up the females in groups makes sense.

Hey Zach, last year i took my males up first about two weeks before the girls, i wanted to make sure that they had a few meals in them just in case they decided to go off feed after smelling a girl, it was a suggestion from a frien, it seemed to work pretty well.

anyway, what have your brumation temps been so far in this weird warm winter in VT? Mine have been alittle higher than i would like but so far so good

Adam

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4.5 THAYERI
1.2 SPLENDIDA
1.3 ALTERNA
0.0.1 HOLD BACK RUNT ALBINO CORN
0.1.1 PYXIE FROG
0.0.1 MEXICAN RED KNEE
1.0 CHILEAN ROSE HAIR

Hey man
Yeah temps have been a little weird but still plenty cool enough for me. I don't really brumate my snakes the way some people do, at x temp for x amount of time. As the days get shorter and my apartment gets cooler the cool side of the cage begins to also get cooler. Even though they still have access to warm temps I find that my snakes are very observant to these changes and most stop feeding on their own. Once they stop feeding on their own I take that as a sign that they want to sleep and conserve energy, so I turn the heat off completely. For the rest of the winter I just leave them at room temp which is somewhere between 62 and 75 depending on the day. If a snake doesn't stop feeding I usually just feed them right through winter. This is almost always just the yearlings.

This is the first year I have had my breeders up in vermont. I think they are aware of how much colder and the light difference compared to jersey. Usually by now I would start to see heads poking out of hides and I know its time to turn the heat back on. But all my guys are still out cold. It has been nearly three months and this is the longest brumation I have ever used. But hey, its freaking -20 out there, I don't want to be awake for it why should they!

I'll be turning the heat back on next week I think. I like to get an early start to give my females a longer season to double clutch.

What projects do you have goin down this spring?

My project for this year should be a pair of thayeri breeding, that is about all i have lined up, next year i will have some other stuff going on but this year will be quite. i am just hoping for a nice clutch, its the girls first year so i am guessing it will be one the smaller side but anything would be fun. well gotta get back to work, the twoon the bottom are the pair

talk to you later
Adam

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4.5 THAYERI
1.2 SPLENDIDA
1.3 ALTERNA
0.0.1 HOLD BACK RUNT ALBINO CORN
0.1.1 PYXIE FROG
0.0.1 MEXICAN RED KNEE
1.0 CHILEAN ROSE HAIR