Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I just put my Variable Kingsnakes down for brumation in a new chamber I built. I used an existing crawl space in my basement. I had been using a wine cooler, but the problem with that was that it only held 6 shoe boxes. So I could only brumate 3 pairs a season, and the adults were crammed into shoe boxes.

The new chamber is fully adjustable according to how many snakes I need to brumate. They can also now go into larger containers. I have put down 6 adult pairs and two juveniles who have stopped feeding. Test runs allowed me to get the chamber to 55F on the floor and 58F one layer high. So I will put the males at floor level and stack the females above them.

I put together a step by step diary of construction with pics on my photobucket. You can check it out here:

http://s925.photobucket.com/albums/ad99/CraigHummel/Building Brumation Chamber/

I hope you enjoy it.

That's pretty sweet. It's similar to what some homebrewers I know have done for lagering rooms and cold storage for their homebrew beer. Oddly enough the best temps for lagering are exactly the same as a brumation chamber like yours. Instead of a wine cooler we use window shaker AC units with remote probe thermostats to hold temp. They work great.

Nice job I hope they all enjoy their winter's rest and come out ready to do the deed.
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BigT
There is a difference between ignorance and stupidity. The ignorant can be taught, stupidity is beyond our control.
1.2 P. m. melanoleucus B/W N. J. Northern Pines
1.2 P. d. deppei Mexican Pines
2.2 P. l. lineaticollis Linis or Lined Pines
1.2 P. m. lodingi Black Pines
1.1 Drymarchon melenurus Blacktail Cribo
1.2 M. s. cheynei Jungle Carpet
2.6 L. p. pyromelana Arizona Mt. Kings
1.1 L. g. californiae B/W Cali kings
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Very nice projet! It should work just fine, good luck with it!

I also took the liberty to look at your thayeri collection. You have a very extensive selection of colors and patterns, congratulations on those guys too!
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King Snakes! Who can make a better mouse trap?
J Sierra

Thanks for the kind words on my thayeri. I really love the species and have worked hard at putting together a collection from trusted bloodlines. These next two years should see alot of my snakes finally being old enough to breed. Fingers crossed.

That is a clever use of existing unused space. Where do you live? If I used the crawl space under my cabin they would freeze. I get good brumation temps right on my bedroom floor, with quilts over the tubs.
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Bob/Chris
Pyromaniac AKA Greatballzofire

>>That is a clever use of existing unused space. Where do you live? If I used the crawl space under my cabin they would freeze. I get good brumation temps right on my bedroom floor, with quilts over the tubs.
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>>Bob/Chris
>>Pyromaniac AKA Greatballzofire

First of all....we don't have basements or crawl spaces down south......But if I left it up to natural temps I would have cooked snakes in the middle of what you all call winter...LOL

But.....It will be a whopping 38 tonight in Corpus Christi.....Good thing the kids are out of school for Thanksgiving break or they would cancel it.....LMAO!!!!!
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John Lassiter
Poor planning and procrastination on your part does not constitute an emergency on my part...
www.coastalbendcaptivebreeding.com

I live in SW Ohio. The ambient temps in that crawl space stay right in the mid 60s to low 70s, depending on the season. So the little extra boost from the wine cooler should do the trick getting it to the mid 50s. Thanks for the feedback.

Great Job Craig......

I achieve a suitable brumation chamber with a 15000 BTU Window unit and lots of insulation on the walls.......males towards the floor and females above them.....In their racks......
Deep aspen in their tubs and fresh water every week or so.....And no light whatsoever.......
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John Lassiter
Poor planning and procrastination on your part does not constitute an emergency on my part...
www.coastalbendcaptivebreeding.com

John,

My initial idea was to use a wall unit AC. But I couldnt find ones that would go below 61F on their thermostats. The wine cooler has a digital thermostat and will get down to the low 50s. I think it uses less electricity and generates less ambient heat also. I put everybody down ealier this week. I am in the process of lowering temps. I have them down to 60F now. Only 5 more degrees to go. Then it will be just checking on them every two weeks to change their water and check on them. They are also in total darkness in that set up.

Craig

>>John,
>>
>>My initial idea was to use a wall unit AC. But I couldnt find ones that would go below 61F on their thermostats. The wine cooler has a digital thermostat and will get down to the low 50s. I think it uses less electricity and generates less ambient heat also. I put everybody down ealier this week. I am in the process of lowering temps. I have them down to 60F now. Only 5 more degrees to go. Then it will be just checking on them every two weeks to change their water and check on them. They are also in total darkness in that set up.

Craig,
My window unit can be set at 60F too, but if you remove the sensor from the where it lies on the coils and find a place where it is warmer the a/c will continue to run and drop the temps inside my chamber into the 40s if I want......I had to play with it so that it would not freeze up the unit like it did a few times last year......

BTW....my breeders have been at 60 for almost 4 weeks now....I just dropped them to 55F today........I am trying a little different approach than I have in the past....the warm up will be more gradual as well. The males are going to come out earlier than the females too....Unlike they did in the past.....
Gotta fix an infertility problem and this is what I came up with.......
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John Lassiter
Poor planning and procrastination on your part does not constitute an emergency on my part...
www.coastalbendcaptivebreeding.com

John,

I am working on that also. I came up with all my males in one rack, and the females in another. When they come up in the spring, the males rack is going to be kept cooler than the females rack. I think I will keep the males at 75 and the females at 85 on their respective warm sides.

Craig

>>John,
>>
>>I am working on that also. I came up with all my males in one rack, and the females in another. When they come up in the spring, the males rack is going to be kept cooler than the females rack. I think I will keep the males at 75 and the females at 85 on their respective warm sides.
>>
>>Craig

I just keep my room around 72-75 during the Spring....
I never turn on the heat for the males.......
I keep the females at room temp too but I set their hot spot around 80. I'm afraid of the sperm dying in the female as well due to the heat......
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John Lassiter
Poor planning and procrastination on your part does not constitute an emergency on my part...
www.coastalbendcaptivebreeding.com

I assume that's to make sure they're fertile.

I brumated everything on the warm side (60s mostly) last season, and ended up having some serious fertility issues during the spring. Even though everything copulated (30 females), I only got one good egg (and a lot of slugs).

This winter I'm getting pretty aggressive with the cooling regimen. My northern location makes brumation a little more simple. My snakes have been down for a few weeks already, with temps mostly in the mid-50s to mid-60s. Temperatures outside are dropping quick, so I'll be able to get them to the mid-40s to mid-50s soon enough. I could probably warm everything up in February, but will probably do it closer to March 1st. Hopefully the longer/colder brumation does the trick.

This winter I'm getting pretty aggressive with the cooling regimen. My northern location makes brumation a little more simple. My snakes have been down for a few weeks already, with temps mostly in the mid-50s to mid-60s. Temperatures outside are dropping quick, so I'll be able to get them to the mid-40s to mid-50s soon enough. I could probably warm everything up in February, but will probably do it closer to March 1st. Hopefully the longer/colder brumation does the trick.
Very interesting, and germane to what I am doing. My snakes went into brumation in mid to late October, and were in the 60's F to 50's F but over the last couple of weeks have dropped into the mid to high 40's F. This is not on purpose, but how cold it has been here in the Sierra Nevada Foothills.
www.repvet.co.za/herp_photoperiod_hibernation_brumation.php
According to this Veterinarian the temperate zone and montane zone snakes actually can do fine in lower than the standard 55 F, which does seem a tad on the warm side if fertility is an issue.
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Bob/Chris
Pyromaniac AKA Greatballzofire

I had three pairings last season (2010). All three gave me slugs. Two of the pairings were from the same animals that gave me 11 and 13 good eggs the year before (2009). Both seasons I brumated my group in a wine cooler at a steady 58F. So what explains the same animals doing well one season, and badly the next when temps and time of brumation were exactly the same?

Like I said, I am going to shoot for a little lower temps in brumation this season, plus keeping the males a little cooler coming out of brumation. We shall see if that indeed does have any effect. But I know many keepers suffered a bad/reduced year last year. I wonder if the snakes know something we don't? I have even gone as far to think about how amphibians are indicator species for pollution/climate change/etc. Maybe reptiles are the next on the list to be trying to give us signs that we (humans)are hurting the Earth with our current practices. Just my thoughts out loud.

I have even gone as far to think about how amphibians are indicator species for pollution/climate change/etc.
I have lived in the Sierra Nevada foothills for over 30 years, and this is the first year I have seen so many toads. First we had a very extra wet spring, then a cool summer with no 100+ F days like usual, then a mega rain in October. In both the spring and the fall just gobs of toads appeared, and I began collecting some of them as they make fun pets. This fall I rescued a bunch of little ones that had not found hibernaculums in time, as the weather suddenly dropped into the teens at night. I don't know if this is a harbinger of planetary weather changes or just a real pain in the butt winter! LOL!
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Bob/Chris
Pyromaniac AKA Greatballzofire

I've hibernated snakes down into the 30s with no ill effects, but to avoid the possibility of a freeze I try to keep temps above 40.

I'm considering moving most of my breeder males to my unheated racks this spring. It will still be warm enough for them to digest modestly sized meals no problem. No need to push them if they are already breeding.

>>I've hibernated snakes down into the 30s with no ill effects, but to avoid the possibility of a freeze I try to keep temps above 40.
>>
>>I'm considering moving most of my breeder males to my unheated racks this spring. It will still be warm enough for them to digest modestly sized meals no problem. No need to push them if they are already breeding.

Plus.....
Most of my males refuse food until after they have bred.......
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John Lassiter
Poor planning and procrastination on your part does not constitute an emergency on my part...
www.coastalbendcaptivebreeding.com