Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I purchased some black milks and some hondurans over the summer. I plan to breed them sepratly in the future. My question is, since they wont be ready to breed for a few years, how important is it to cool them this season. I would like to keep feeding them throughout the winter without cooling for faster growth. Will not cooling the snakes the first year of their life mess with their future cooling cycles and breeding?
Thanks: Jason

Hello,
It's not necessary to cool them if you're not going to breed them the following spring. In fact, in the case of the black milksnake, it's not even necessary to cool them when you are going to breed them. It's one of the many little quirks they have as a result of being native to the high-altitude cloud forests of Costa Rica and Panama. Cooling them the same way you'd cool a hondo certainly won't hurt anything though, and may even improve their fertility. But for their first 3 winters, you might as well just let them do what they do best... eat, grow, and turn black.

Nate

Nate, Thanks for the helpful advice. Its hard to find info on the black milks.
Thanks again: Jason

Hey, no problem! If you're having a hard time finding information, VPI has a very nice care sheet, the one here on kingsnake.com has some good general information too.
VPI Care Sheet