Reptile & Amphibian Forums

My cal kings are getting ready for their winter cool down, and I want to know if I should do the same with my hatchling western hogs. Do you guys brumate hatchlings?

Some I do and some I don't. It depends on the individual snake. If I start to see that they are going off feed but still doing well, not losing weight, then they are telling me it is time. Some others continue to feed well and so I don't cool them. I have also seen where a stubborn feeder is cooled for about 45-60 days and when it is brought out it feeds like a completely different snake.
Several years ago when I had a much smaller collection and just a few years of experience I ran my own test. I did this with cal kings. I split up the group of hatchlings. Half were cooled and half were kept in the rack. I kept the rack and room temps up, kept lights on, curtains open, etc. to give them as many hours of light as possible. They ate sporadic during the winter, not weekly. I brought out the hatchlings after about 75 days, warmed them up and began feeding. You could easily see the difference between the two groups at that time. However, a couple of months later, they were all the same size. So by late May or June they were all the same. I stopped keeping hatchling cal kings in the rack through the winter because it was not worth the extra effort.
I have not done the same test with hogs. Maybe someone else has and will share their test results.
John Q