Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Can a pair still breed even though they did not get "cooled down" just curious. I did not have females large enough in the beginning of the season and I did not cool. All of my snakes are in one rack so I did not want to cool the entire rack since I had some young ones in there that I bought. I did get two females of breeding size in December. I have been intoducing them to my males but I have not witnessed anything. Am I wasting my time trying? Should I just give up and wait for next year? This is my first attempt at breeding so any help would be appreciated.

Thanks!

Yes you can. I do it all the time.

Yes you can breed without cooling? Then whats the point in cooling then if they can still breed either way?

that is a VERY good question DrBubbleBerry...and one i would be interested in the answer to

From my experience down here in miami is, since its usally always hot down here I have noticed that when a small cold front comes through they lock instantly.Also try misting them or leaving a shed in the cage.Hope this helps.

I think there are a few reason to lower your temps during breeding. The obvious is that it helps to stimulate breeding in a larger number of snakes....if you have a bunch of animals and you want them all "in the mood" it may help to drop at least your ambient temps if not your heat tape also.

I do it because when I start to raise the temps back up, I notice that most of my snakes go right around the same time.....for the most part they all ovulate and lay within a few months.

Most of all I drop temps because I always have....lol

I don't think you NEED to drop your temps but I like to.
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blackrockcaptives.com

Ill give it a shot. I think the most important reason people cool their animals is because of natural behavior. Seasons change all around the world every year. Since who knows when. The cooling I believe is more less used as a breeding calendar. Yes if you have a whole room full of animals when you cool them their natural instinct is "its changing seasons". Next year when it comes around again and they bred the year before when it was cool then their natural instinct kicks back in and tells them ok its getting cool again the seasons must be changing. Its that time of the year. For us PEOPLE its that time of the month. For them its that time of the year. Snakes just like any other animal are born with natural instinct. Wether born in a tub or born out in the bush of Africa. Believe it or not Africa does get cool!! Now wether they breed then or not I dont think anyone can really answer. I would say they breed when the right opportunity arrives. Again natural instinct! To breed and carry on life. I would say cooling is not a nessecity but more less a routine breeders use just like a calendar. Some peoples calendars are different. Some cool in November. I myself start cooling in Februaury. Just some thoughts off my mind. Could be way off! LOL dont we all wish we were mind readers????

I am not an Old Timer or Pro by any standard. I have bred sucessfully for a couple of years. I though Cooling was necessary the first year but that was the only year I tried it. I have been very successful especially this season with constant temps and just putting males with females. Try it when there is a Storm or Front moving through your area. It is thought by many breeders that the change in Barometric pressure stimulates them to breed. The best breeding I have had this season was during a snow storm. Everyone was locking up.
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Joshua A. Mills
2.1 Pastels
1.0 Yellow Belly
0.7 Normals not including the babies
And many more to come

I am no expert. This is my first season breeding my snakes, and we didn't cool at all, and its deffinitely worked out fine for us. I know some other breeders that don't cool their snakes either. I don't think its a necessity, but people that do cool their snakes WILL cool them every year because you stick with what works.

Experiement with the different options people throw out at you, because (like incubating eggs, apparently) theres a million ways to do it. Try to come up with your own method. Once you find something that works (whether be cooling or not cooling) hang onto it until you find something better.

But in the end, no I don't think you are wasting your time. Leave them quiet all night long. If no luck, give them space to de-stress, and than put them back in later.

Good luck.
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Cheers!
• Chelsea Lynn Gardiner
(and Frank M. Wood)

this will be my first year not dropping temps. last year i cycled and my females did not throw many eggs, so i wanted to try something different - they stopped eating, did not mate much and i believe were not hefty enough to produce much. this year though they are all pounding rats and are all mating like crazy. both great things as their weights are great - they have all morphed into big robust gals and are i believe producing nice follicles. funny though... the males have not touched food since sept so if they are "cycled" as this would indicate, so are the gals, they're just "building". i wont know for sure till they lay but all the right signs are there. i leave a window open 10 inches in the snake room - that knocks the ambient temps down enough here in the north that its probably just right for the snakes to feel the change yet they still have all the heat they want, anytime they want.

how I handle it-leave the thermostats on the heat cables alone, but allow the ambient room temperature to drop. Seems to work great!

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Brad Chambers
WWW.HCU-TX.ORG

The Avalanche has already started-it is too late for the pebbles to vote....

No cooling.