Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I am raising corn snakes for the first time this year. I currently have 5 of breeding age, 4 females and 1 male. I only had them for a couple months and have been feeding them pretty heavily.

My fear is putting them into brumation too thin (it may be that I am just used to my pythons and sand boas).

My question is: Is there any way to tell if they are in the right condition to be put into brumation?

I plan to bring them down slowly and let them sit in a dark closet at about 55-65 degrees F for about 2 1/2 months.

If anyone has any tips or words of encouragement I am all ears.

It is just scary keeping them at those low temperatures and letting them go without food for so long for the first time. I am so afraid of finding a dead or sick snake. I realize they do this normally in the wild but then again who can reproduce nature as well as nature itself?

They gotta have good weight on them, not so much for brumation (in which they'll lose very little, if any weight), but for the stresses of breeding.

Chasing females takes up a lot of energy for males and egg production is physically draining for many females.

Going without food while being cooled for 8-12 weeks is no big deal for corns. On the other hand, breeding is a VERY big deal; they must be in prime condition or your snakes will run the risk of health problems.

If you don't think your animals have enough weight you can either try to breed them without cooling or give them a short brumation. I've cooled corn snakes for as little as 3 weeks and have had 100% hatching success from their clutches.

But the main thing is do not attempt to breed them if they are thin.

Tim

Third Eye

Corn snakes don't need to be brumated for reproductive success. I've bred them without brumating them and have had 100% of the eggs be good and viable. It appears that you can be just as likely to get bad eggs without brumating them, because, of course, there are many variables. But environmental cues, like reduced photoperiod etc., are often enough for spermatogenesis and follicular development to run its course.

Brumation is hard on snakes. Every year, I hear of someone who lost a suboc during or just after brumation. As snake owners, we offer our captive charges very little choice of how and where they will spend the brumal period. Usually, it's sitting on aspen in a 36" x 18" enclosure. In the wild, I am sure that snakes take many environmental conditions into consideration...things like substrate dampness, substrate texture, substrate dryness, maybe even substrate pH, amount of visible sunlight, darkness, draftiness, stuffiness, temperature, and on and on down the line... these are probably all considered by a snake about to enter into winter dormancy. There is one huge macrohabitat with plenty of microhabitats to choose from. Now, I know that wild snakes have to compete with other snakes and avoid predation, etc., but you get the idea that there are probably more suitable overwintering locations for a wild snake than for a captive in a sweater box.

If something is bothering the captive snake for the 2 - 3 months during brumation (e.g., substrate or air that is too dry or too damp), and it can't do anything about it to make a difference in its situation, I can see how that can take its toll on the health of an animal, especially an animal that was already immunosuppressed before it was exposed to yet another unsuitable annoyance or condition.

Sooo...I've given you a drawn out response, but I think you should continue putting weight on your snakes, if you have any question as to whether your animals are fit enough or not, in that regard. Because if there isn't enough weight, it definitely won't matter if they've been brumated or not.

Cheers,

DR
Suboc.com