Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I'm hoping that this pair of striped situla will breed this year. It will their first attempt. I took them out of brumation almost a month ago and although they have been eating like they never have before, neither one has gone into a shed yet. I guess I just need to be patient. Does this species normally have to go through the post brumation shed before breeding? Any experiences or tips would be appreciated. Thanks. First pic female. Second is the male.

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Matt Kauffman

I can't answer your questions as I have no experience with situla.
But wow! Those are spectacular.

Thanks. For some reason my camera only takes good pictures when it wants to, and these weren't the best. Before I brumated them they were somewhat picky feeders, insisting on live prey. Now they snatch FT mice right off the tongs. They aren't as hard to keep as their reputation leads people to beleive. However, breeding them may be a different story.
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Matt Kauffman

Wow.... Incredibly stunning!! I love love love the stripe form!! I love striped anything. lol!

Great looking pair Matt.
I go ahead and start pairing mine up after they have had a few good meals, even if the female hasn't had her first post brumation shed yet. Years ago I used to wait for the first shed but now start pairing them up earlier just to be safe and I have overall much higher percentages of fertile clutches from various species of ratsnakes.
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Randy Whittington

Ok. sounds good Randy. I'm also a bit concerned that my brumation temps. weren't low enough for them. It got in the 50's at night but some days the temps in my brumation room were in the 60's. This pair is from Greece, which isn't the northern most part of their range, but I've heard that they need to be fully hibernated and not just cooled. I'll keep my fingers crossed. I know a lot of species respond well to simply being cooled for several months with a reduced photo cycle.
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Matt Kauffman

Matt I wouldn't worry about those temps. I'm not even able to do that well where I live with my temps with no apparent ill effects.
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Randy Whittington

Well Randy, I took your advice and paired them up yeterday before I went to work. When I got home that night the male was trying to mate the female, but it's like he just couldn't get it right. They were intertwined several times and at one point the female even lifted her tail a bit, but he was unsuccessful from what I could see. That's probably a good sign though, at least there is interest. Things will probably go better once she sheds. How long do you leave them together in these early pairings?
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Matt Kauffman

As long as the female isn't frantically trying to get away from the male with him chasing aggressivly, I leave them together for 2 or 3 days at a time during early introductions.
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Randy Whittington

Wow!,...those are absolutely incredible!

As far as I know, a post-brumation shed is definitely the norm.

good luck with those bad boys!

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

my website -serpentinespecialties.webs.com

Thanks guys. Very helpful, as always. I'm keeping my fingers crossed. It's been a long wait, but I'm finally getting pairs that are of breeding size this year.
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Matt Kauffman