I live in NW Missouri and I recently caught a wild black rat snake. It is a very mild mannered snake, and it is turning out to make a great pet. I built an outdoor enclosure for it in my back yard - the enclosure is a 5' tall by ~3.5' wide hexagon. Built out of non-treated 2'x4's and hardware cloth. I used shellac to treat the lumber because it said it was all natural, and I thought it would be better than lacquer.
Anyway, back to my main concern. I want to hibernate my black snake in the winter to keep the snake happy and healthy in it's natural, seasonal, life cycle. I have never done this before, but I was thinking I would put the snake in a large cooler in my garage during the winter months. My plans are to fill the cooler with several inches of dry peat, with a bunch of dried leaves and a log or a large flat rock to hide under with a bowl of fresh water.
Please tell me if this is not a good plan, and why. Here are a few of my concerns:
Since the snake will be living outdoors I don't think I will have to worry about regulating its daylight hours or temperature, but when should I stop feeding the snake? I don't want to feed it for too long and have it die from rotten food in its belly, but I also don't want to stop feeding too early and cause starvation. Also, how low/high can the temperature get and still be good for hibernation? Will the snake be ok in the cooler in the dark for 3-4 months, or should I find a way to let daylight in? Can I check on the snake without waking it from hibernation?
I tried to google this matter, but came up empty handed, except for a couple of very generic and short answers.
