Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Well i live in los angeles and my mountain king (a fairly low altitude w/c z parvirubra) has been living in my wine fridge at 53 degrees for 3 months... she seems to be doing ok ... i have taken her out a a couple of times lately to pet her and such.... while i check her water etc...

I am almost done with her new 20 gallon enclosure, screen lid, and climbing wall.... within 2 days i will be done...

For the last 4.5 days i have raised her temp 2 degrees -- now at 62...

Is 3 months enough for her to brumate? I know a couple of you un-brumated your snakes already but i expect some are waiting till march...

Thanks for letting me know if 3 months is enough...

Unless mountain Kings require a longer brumation, I cool my kings and Corns for two months, and I get very good results. I strongly believe that feeding the females almost as much as they will eat, is key to triggering their reproductive engines. Just my opinion.
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King Snakes! Who can make a better mouse trap?
J Sierra

Yeah, I pretty much agree 100% on that too Jorge. In times of plentiful food and full bellies, it would be nature's cue telling them that their bodies can easily afford the process of producing eggs. Otherwise if they are very thin, or very sick their bodies would be signaling to possibly wait for better times.

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

my website -Serpentine Specialties

You generally cool zonata because they cease feeding anyway, and you do not want them to burn calories when not feeding. Perhaps also to give them a seasonal change just like they would experience in nature.

Of course males need to control the temperature of sperm for reproduction. Sperm too cold for too long is not good, and too warm for too long is not good. So they regulate it, with periods of warming and cooling, which is easy to do in Spring conditions where days are nice and nights are cool.

If you offer your snake food and it eats, no need to keep cooling it. Unless you want the break yourself. That is OK.

Some hatchlings will eat right thru their first Winter. No need to cool them in that case. BTW, do you know why some hatchlings will eat right thru Winter? Why do they ignore the season as long as they have access to some heat? Anyone?
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Mark

"Why do they ignore the season as long as they have access to some heat? Anyone?"

I have alway thought it was basically a two-part answer...

1) Since conditions allow it, go ahead and eat to gain size so as not to be as small and vulnerable to predaators.

2) because some very young snakes haven't got the instict down quite yet as they would when they are more mature and experience the full seasons with a full set of mature hormones.

I guess very generally, it is sort of like some individuals will still pound food when in very deep blue preparing to shed, while others will not even LOOK at food when getting close to shedding.

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

my website -Serpentine Specialties

I might also add, that in the wild these snakes are forced into brumation, whether they want to or not, with freezing temps and snow on the ground. A hatchling in captivity hasn't developed that ingrained, "seasonal schedule" yet. And therefore, may not have the natural instinct to brumate. However, adults in the wild are "habitual" brumators, and old habits are hard to break, even in the warmer confines of a "reptile room", once in captivity.

I've brought home hatchlings I've caught in the spring, hatched the previous late summer/fall, that of course had just come out of their first brumation prior to being collected. The following winter, I wouldn't cool them and would maintain them around 82-84, and they'd charge through the winter months without ever refusing a meal. Wild caught adults...well that's different story in my experience. Mine have almost always shut down regardless of the temps. They KNOW what they're supposed to be doing. Additionally I think the air pressure fluctuations associated with the seasons changing affects what they do. And this is something I personally cannot detect (no matter how hard I try -LOL), regardless of the ambient temps...but they might be able to I suppose.

JMO.

When did you take that pic of the z? Did you find that one?
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www.Bluerosy.com

The pic was taken last year. This one was caught as a hatchling, about 5 years ago, up near Pine Crest Lake, Hwy 108, Tuolumne County.

Hey, you're supposed to take me to a hot spot in Santa Cruz Co, RIGHT?!!!!!!

Of course males need to control the temperature of sperm for reproduction. Sperm too cold for too long is not good, and too warm for too long is not good. So they regulate it, with periods of warming and cooling, which is easy to do in Spring conditions where days are nice and nights are cool.

Some hatchlings will eat right thru their first Winter. No need to cool them in that case. BTW, do you know why some hatchlings will eat right thru Winter? Why do they ignore the season as long as they have access to some heat? Anyone?

Agree on all points. The answer is CHOICES. By giving heat choices between digesting range (80-90F)and cooling (40-60F). The snake knows what end of the cage to sit and when.

Also i think forcefully cooling a snake (even a zonata) for 3 months is to long. Maybe 4-6 weeks. Most other kings need a lot less time. But in my experince, certain species like charina (rubber boas) shut down for a longer period and need cooler temps to preserve calories. Then they gouge on food and stuff themselves more than other snakes.
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www.Bluerosy.com

Just pulled my zonata multicincta out of brumation (mid October to late Jan) and the big guy has already taken 4 weanlings and is in shed lol. Best feeding snake I have/have ever had.
Man, I LOVE zonata! (and pyros, and getula, and everything Lampro)

Today i finally completed acclimating the little z to normal room temps in my home.... I have never had to brumate snakes before... Once she stopped eating at the end of October, i was a bit alarmed... and concerned that once out of brumation she would not eat normally or something... Well today she did eat! she promptly ate 2 f/t pinkies! Yay!