Reptile & Amphibian Forums

We have had above average temps here and my basement is 65!!!!
Is that cool enough to start them?
Thanks Mike

That's fine. Especially if you think the temperature will drop even more when winter comes. I have two friends who have been successfully breeding Hondurans for years and have never brumated them.

I don't know how cold it gets in their native land in the winter, but that would be interesting to know.

Tim

Third Eye

I just Googled up a chart for the Sula Plain in Honduras and found a graph that said: average night time winter temps (for Dec-Jan) only get down to 68-70 degrees. Also now is the least amount of rainfall for the year. (Don't know if you could call it a "dry season" ) but anyway...I'm really interested in local conditions of exotic herps, too. Would be nice to hear from someone who has actually Been there...or is From there? Or maybe even lives there NOW??? TJ.

I've been brumating my hondurans right alongside my other colubrids at 52-60 degrees for the last 25 years-they produce young every year!
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Brad Chambers
WWW.HCU-TX.ORG

"Some things are flat impossible-until they're done."
Robert A. Heinlein

In my past Honduran breeding, I've kept them up with heat and light through out the winter (if you call it that) in Central Florida and I've had great breeding success.

The key is reducing the light cycle during the winter months...and then increasing the light to stimulate the reproductive juices!

I control the light duration with a timer that you can find at any Wal-Mart.

Also, the ambient temps during the winter are less than the summer months...however the difference is slight.

Given: Adult Hondo in cage, water, and belly heat tape.

Example (Valentine's Day to Thanksgiving):

Outside Temp Range: 70-95
Inside Temp Range (ambient): 70-75
Lights: on 13 hours (7am-8pm)
Feed: weekly 2 mice

Example (Thanksgiving to Valentine's Day):

Outside Temp Range: 35-85
Inside Temp Range (ambient): 67-75
Lights: on 10 hours or less (8am-6pm)
Feed: bi-weekly 2 mice

If you cool your snakes you don't need to feed them...that's the main benefit...however they don't grow either.

If your snake goes off feeding, it's best to cool them so they don't lose weight.

NOTE: This method has worked on Cal. Kings...but it has NOT worked for Arizona Mt. Kings.

Hope this helps,
Rusty

I should proof read my stuff before posting!!!

-R

Like Rusty(RG) has already mentioned, Hondos come from a very mild Latin American climate, and I have NEVER made a big deal about cold "official" brumation, they just don't need it to breed successfully. However, where I also live in central Florida, the winter temps are strong enough for them to DEFINITELY know what season it is. I let them get small "tastes" of some cold fronts that come through, and they can easily notice the shortening of the photo-period through windows that are in the room. This is very important in my opinion, and is probably much more fundamental than the cooler temps alone.

A big key benefit to brumating them very cool(if you can do it) is the fact that you don't have to mess with them much through the winter months, except for "some" cleaning now and then, and making sure fresh water is available.

~Doug
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"a snake in the grass is a GOOD thing"