Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Living in southern California it just does not get very cold. I have my adults with no heat in a closet. What is the temperature they should be cooling at?

Less than 55 degrees is my preferred temp. I like close to 50. My fridge is between 51-53 top to bottom.

If you're having a hard time maintaining temps get a used refrigerator and a Ranco (on/off) thermostat.
-----

Hognose Snake & Select Ball Python Morphs

Greg Bennett | www.hognose.com

I do 55 degrees for 3 months.
-----
Gecko Babies Website
Facebook Page

Yep my temps. have been in mid 60s. Glad I asked. Is there a product available people use for brumation other than buying a huge used fridge? Right now I only have five snakes "cooling" I'm cool paying a few bucks for something. Thanks for responses, past and hopefully future. Mark

I used a wine refridgerator from target 100$ cools to 54 and has a glass front door. Its got a small fan in the back that pulls air from the outside and cools it coming in.

I live in So. Cal. and have no problem getting the hogs down below 50. Try keeping them in a garage. If that's not an option, try putting their boxes outside during the evening until 10-12pm. A patio, balcony, etc. You should have no problem getting them down to proper temps.
John Q

That might work putting them into garage at night until it's too cold. When I bring them back inside they will again be in 65 or so temps. The fluctuation is ok? Thanks everyone for your great input.

Gradual fluctuations should not be a problem. Snakes in the wild can become surface active in the dead of winter if the temps heat up enough.

To those using fridges and coolers, is there any problem with those pulling all the moisture out of the air and dehydrating the snake?

Ross

Reread the post and wanted to clarify. GRADUAL fluctuations I consider to be OK. However, if you meant putting them into the garage until 'x' temeperature and bringing them inside, and doing that everyday, then I don't think I'd recommend that.

If however you put them into the garage and only bring them in when it is getting really cold, that should work.

Ross

When you bring them in from the garage, put them in a cooler (Ice Chest). That will give you less temperature swing.

The wine cooler I use does not use a compressor.Its got a fan with a heat sink looking thing but it gets cold not hot. Ill have to get a humidity gauge and see what it is in there.

Boy to bring rack in and out of garage every night is a chore. Doable but a chore. I went to Target and saw the $99.00 wine unit. It seems a bit limited in size and I still need to measure. Looks like possibly three bins can fit. Probably smaller bins than what I have my adults in now. There is no problem from lack of air? I would think keeping water in there constantly might solve dehydration issue. I just don't want unit to become a coffin.

I can fit 5 of the 9" deli that are the 3" high in the wine cooler,

Is that size ok for a 350 gram female with water dish?

my 250 gram female fits just fine and my mtn kings. I use small 2oz sauce cups stappled to the side for water. Then use another 2oz cup inside the other so water does not leak out the stapple holes. They seem to have room I see them moving around. Next year i will make something else hopefully ill have more hogs ready to breed next year.

The temps to avoid are the low-mid 70's - that is where snakes are warm enough for possible infections to set in but cold enough where they can't fight them off. In the wild, you do not see snakes with body temps in the low-mid 70s for very long. They are either warming up above that or cooling down below that. They are just passing thru.

Temps that range from 50-65 are generally safe. I live in So Cal as well, and evening temps on the floor in any room will easily be in the 50s, even if day temps get higher. North-facing rooms will be the coolest the longest, and hard floor is cooler than carpet. Even placing some tile down and setting a sweater box on it will generally work well. Air temps do not mean much if the cage floor gets down into the 50s. Snakes are on their bellies, so floor temp is more of what they experience.

The fridge and Ranco or Johnson thermostat is a great way to get the desired temp range. You can get there without that as well but it takes more monitoring, and it means use the floor, not a shelf.