These questions are ones that do not necessarily have one definitive answer and like most aspects of snake husbandry success can be had with slightly varying formula's.
The methods I use have worked very well for me though others have also have good success by managing their animals differently.
"After brumation how fast do we bring the sankes back up to temp.?"
I generally put my snakes down for a full three months beginning in late Nov/ early Dec through around the first of March. While down I like to have the temps in the low to mid 50°'sF if possible but there is some natural temperature drift in my hibernacula and during this time the temps sometimes move into the lower 60°'sF for several days at a time if we are having unseasonably warm temps in our area. When bringing my snakes back up I usually give them a couple of days in temps of around 70° and then place them in their regular quarters where the DTH is at 80° or slightly above. The NTL's will be in the upper 60°F's to around 70°F. My snakes adjust rapidly to these conditions.
"How long after returning them to temp and feeding them do we start to introduce the male into the..."
I offer food after the snakes are up to regular temps for about a week. Most will feed at this time but on occasion they may skip the first offering and feed after several more days. The female snakes rarely declines the first offering of food but occasionally a male needs a few more days. The first meal I offer is generally a little smaller than I will usually feed them. I will start them off with a small rat to get their digestive tract up and running and move on to medium rats from there. Most of my males will feed around three times and then go into breed mode and have no further interest in food. If the female goes into a shed cycle I will wait until she sloughs her skin for introductions. Otherwise I introduce the snakes before the first shed of the year. Unlike many other colubrids (corns, kings, rats, etc..), Pits often times have their first shed after being up for several months. If you wait for the first shed of your female there is the distinct possibility of missing the breeding window of opportunity. I also prefer to introduce the female to the males enclosure rather than the other way around. I will keep the female and male together for several days - separate and repeat the process in a week or so. During this time the male will most likely refuse food but the female will feed heavily. Sometimes courtship and copulation takes place immediately, other times it may take awhile. It is important to be patient and if at all possible try to have the snakes together at a time in which you can be present so that you can confirm that an actual copulation occurs.
"What temp and humidity level do we want the incubator set at?"
I have heard of more colubrid eggs being lost by using an incubator than for any other reason. Not to say that an incubator can not be successfully used to incubate Pit eggs but honestly a lot can go wrong when applying an auxillary heat source to Pit eggs. Unlike python eggs Pit eggs do not need steady temps in the high 80°sF. A one time malfunction during the incubation period where the temps become too high can kill an entire clutch in a matter of hours. I much prefer to keep it simple and safe. I use a plastic sterilite shoe box filled with damp vermiculite or perlite with moderate humidity. I like to see some condensation on the sides of the box but I avoid allowing the medium from becoming wet. Through the process I will adjust the humidity inside the box by lightly misting the sides and medium if the eggs begin to desicate. This will usually be evident if the eggs begin caving in somewhat early in the incubation process. Additional humidity will fill the eggs back out. Do not mist water directly onto the eggs. Once in the plastic shoe box I place the eggs on an upper shelf in my snake room and begin the incubation process. I keep a digital thermometer there so I can monitor the temps and see what the DTH's and NTL's are. I place them in a location where there is a natural temperature drift with the lows in the mid 70°'sF and the highs in the mid 80°'sF. If the temps drop down below this for a brief period there will not be a problem. However, if the temps are allowed to go into the 90°'sF you run the risk of losing the clutch or in having deformed offspring. Exceedingly high temps are to be avoided at all times! This is why I avoid using standard incubators. They are usually unnessesary and if you have a malfunction on your thermostat you can lose an entire clutch within hours. A friend of mine lost nearly a dozen clutches of colubrids eggs last year when this happened to him when all he really needed to do was set up his eggs in plastic boxes on shelves in his snake room. I highly recommend keeping it simple and taking the risk out of it since Pit eggs will do fine with daily temperature fluctuations. With this regimen my eggs usually hatch between 65- 75 days post laying.
This is how I manage both pines and bulls with good success and by using these methods I expect and usually achieve 100% hatch rate of perfect hatchlings.
Hope this helps!
Phil
