Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I put a themometer on the floor by the sliding glass door were my BT's are brumating or hibernating if you prefer and left it there for a few days, then checked it and it was 45 degrees F, I then put it in the soil and left it for a day and it read 48F, even though the air temps in my basement runs 60-62F this time of year with the temps upstairs maintained at 70F. So even though the air is 60 degrees, because they are next to a glass door and on a concrete floor with the temp below freezing outside it creates good conditions for brumation, also I keep a lid on top of the tubs with holes melted on the sides, to keep the humidity up since the air tends to get dry when the furnace is running all the time. All I do is sprinkle water on the soil once a month to keep them hydrated, also I have holes drilled in the bottom of the tubs to ensure drainage, to eliminate the possibility of sitting in water and rotting or drowning. Perhaps they would survive the winter outside, but Iowa's winters can be brutal, so I'm not willing to take the chance, we've had a lot of ice storms this year, in fact last night I fell flat on my arse on the sidewalk to my front door, ouch! My arse is still sore today In a little over two months I will anxiously be awaiting the little heads popping up saying,"We're back" Hopefully there will be a little love in the air and they will shake their baby-makers this spring in BTville
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1.0 pastel ball python
0.1 mojave ball python
0.1 normal ball python
0.2 3-toed box turtles
2.3 eastern box turtles
0.0.5 3-striped mud turtle
1.0 northern diamondback terrapin
2.1 tiger salamander
1.1 red-sided garter
1.0 anerythristic red-sided garter
1.1 Iowa snow plains garter
1.1 Het butter stripe cornsnake
0.1 anerythristic motley cornsnake
1.1 Blue garter (Puget Sound)

Those are good hibernation temps. Good luck next spring