Reptile & Amphibian Forums

i'm on my third snake. it's my first king, and my first snake that has brumated. its about 30 inches or so, my guess would be that this is its second winter. it last ate late october-early november. i keep the tank in the mid 60s, and it seems to be doing fine in brumation. how will i know when to plug his heater back in, and to offer food? will its activity increase? or should i plug the heater back in in a few weeks and try to force him out of hibernation? thanks for the help.

ignore that photo in my first post. i put that up by accident.

Why did you turn the heat off ?? Just give under-the-tank heat source on one end and a cool end on the other. After the snake feeds it will lay on the hot side for a few days and then it will move to the cool side to conserve energy.

Give the snake a choice and it will still cycle to produce. Your snake will be happier, healthier and thank you for it.

no i dont really intend to breed it, just a pet. i turned the heat off probably in november. when i had the heater plugged in, i noticed its activity level was very high, even on the cool side of the tank. once i unplugged it is when its activity level dropped. i had tried leaving it plugged in and continued to offer food, but it was refused. i figured i would leave it unplugged because i didnt want the snake to waste energy before going into brumation.

should i plug it in and start offering food again?

The old receipe or method for "brumation" was to turn off the temps and FORCE the snake to conserve energy. That is not needed. Just keep a bottom source heat (you did not mention what type of heat source you are using)on one end and feed. The snake will regulate it self when it wants to eat.

its an under the tank heater.