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Ok, for kingsnakes what is the lowest the temps can go down to while cooling and is it possible to cool them too long?

>>Ok, for kingsnakes what is the lowest the temps can go down to while cooling and is it possible to cool them too long?

Well, I've had the temps drop into the low 40's but not for long periods. They don't need temps that low, unless they are from Mountain ranges. Not sure what too long would be but I'm sure there is a limit. 2 to 4 months is normal, 3 months being the most commonly used. Here in Florida I sometimes have to wait till January before temps are cool enough to brumate them.
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King Snakes! Who can make a better mouse trap?
Jorge Sierra

My Site > www.Sierrasnakes.com

www.repvet.co.za/herp_photoperiod_hibernation_brumation.php

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Bob
Pyromaniac AKA Greatballzofire
Keeping cats allows man to cohabitate with tigers. Keeping reptiles allows man to cohabitate with dinosaurs.

I started cooling two weeks ago and cool for 6 weeks for my FL Kings and 8 weeks for my Western Hogs. My temps range from 55-65 day and night. I know BHB cools for 3 or so months, but when taking care of that large of a collection, the brumation period is a break from the work and from food bills... that's part of why he cools that long (so Ive heard). Id say 6 weeks - 3 months would be safe as well as successful. I had very few slugs last year and would rather spend more of the year feeding up my snakes than cooling them... plus it doesn't stay cold long here in Florida lol. Goodluck!!

Anaconda Western Hog x Het Pink Pastel (OT but it's all Ive got right now lol)

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Jeremy Thompson
Captive Born Investments Inc.
www.captiveborninvestments.net
Jeremy@captiveborninvestments.net
941-323-4850

Yeah down in Florida cooling can be more of an issue to get them cold enough.

I know people like BHB cool for 3 months and so do many others because they can take a break from feeding, cleaning and food expenses. But i found you get better production from a short cooling period and feed throughout the winter. keeps the snaks fat and healthy. Plus a forced cooling for an extended period is just not good for ALL the snakes in your collection. Maybe some. but not all. That is what i used to do and then started leaving them in cold rooms with the heat on. most all sit on the cold side anyway. but because it is warm on the other, they have a choice...AND THEY WILL EAT. So feeding straglers, fincky feeders and borderline size sub adults is possible.

I actually discovered the whole cold room-heat tape on by accident one winter. i was in the middle of moving from The west coast to the east coast. i kept the snakes in my parents garage for the winter . problem was it got down to 35f. So i left on the heat tape. Then that spring I had all my snakes bred and more interesting..was the smaller females laid eggs. females that were 2 years old and tiny. So i wondered if small females do lay in the wild. And since they do. i adopted this way of keeping them during brumation. I think it is much healthier to the snakes and much kinder *cough Billy/Discern* to to it this way.
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Good question.

There may not be an actual set answer on the exact lowest temp, but, I had great success brumating kings and milks in the lower 50s, and sometimes it would go as low as upper 40s.

Some breeders brumate 2 months, some 3 months, some may differ than those examples as well. I always put my breeders in brumation on December 1st, and brought them out on March 1st, and experienced superior results.

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Genesis 1:1

Nice Cali there Billy,What is it? almost looks anery?
L8r Shannon

Hey Shannon!!
Great Calis below!!!! Those are AWESOME!

The story on this:

This is the Cal king you had received, along with some others, at some show up there, back in 05, and you were told that these were BEBs, from the guy you got them from. You sent some to Don Shores, and this was the last one he had, and I got it, in 05. After checking the snake over, it appears that it was not a BEB, but very much resembled exactly the BEB hets that Tim from Vivid was selling back in 05.

So...I just refer to it as a hypo Cal king.

Thanks for the compliments.

You remember those snakes?
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Genesis 1:1

Oh yeah,I do remember that group.Very cool man.

L8r

Thanks guys, I'm on the east coast and my MBK's who i've cooled last year stopped eating as of November but my brooksi still want to eat without any heat. My basement is maintaing a temp of 62 so I'm not overly concerned but it hasn't become brutally cold yet either. I'm guessing if they are down as of November I should start to warm them up in Feb. My smaller kings and corns I'm heating all winter and feeding

"Kingsnakes" is broad. There are mountain kings and cal kings where I live and they have different metabolisms.

Where I live (5,000 ft) cal kings (that's what I have) disappear from November to March. Now in the low desert you can probably find cal kings year round. Good luck with that where I live.

So I brumate my cal kings for 4 to 4 1/2 months.....because it is natural and it's what they do.

I brumate all my snakes, breeders and babies. Never had a problem and it doesn't affect them at all.

Kerby...

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Life is like a bunch of fish in an aquarium....we all get along (bonding) until I want to eat you....and I do.

Me too but it has nothing to do with the weather in my geographical location.......deep south Texas...... I have many montane snakes and the 4 months of high 40s and low 50s I force them all through never hurts the common kings in my collection.

I don't know what their lowest threshold temps or duration at those temps are....

But I did have a buddy nuerologically damage a pair of nigrita last year with constant temps in the low 40s......at least those are the temps he thought they were....
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John Lassiter
Poor planning and procrastination on your part does not constitute an emergency on my part...