Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Right now I am trying to breed corn snakes, but I am not to sure on the proccess. My questions are how do I know when the snake is hibernating, is there a sign that you look for. I have been cooling mine down but they are still somewhat active. Kind of scared to take them completely off food until I am sure. Also, I want to try jungle corns. I have a wild caught female corn that laid eggs shortly after I got her and a c/b proven bred clalifornia king snake male. I have " A color Guide to Corn Snakes" by Michael J. McEachern and "The Corn Snake Manual" by Bill and Kathy Love and the June 2003 Reptiles Magazine with the article on Kathy Love. None of these really hit the subject much. Any help would be appreciated. I would hate to see the corn get injured because of something I did not do right.

Thanks in advance,
Bert

It would be nice if the snakes put out a Do Not Disturb sign when hibernating.

The worst thing you can do is to keep feeding while cooling. The food is likely to rot in the gut instead of being digested. This is life threatening. I hold snakes without food at regular activity temperature for two weeks so they can clear the gut. Then two weeks at room temperature (65-75 F) and then drop them to under 60 F. Anywhere between 50 and 60 F is all right for hibernation.

I've never tried to breed Cal kings to corns so can't help there. Try the hybrid forum.

Paul Hollander

>>... My questions are how do I know when the snake is hibernating, is there a sign that you look for.

Once you've got them cooled down enough, they're brumating. They become lethargic.

>> I have been cooling mine down but they are still somewhat active. Kind of scared to take them completely off food until I am sure.

You take them off food BEFORE you start cooling them. Feeding them when they're not warm enough to speedily digest their meals is a recipe for disaster. Healthy snakes, even babies, can easily go for three weeks without dining, provided they have water available. You want their guts totally empty before you cool them off (at least two weeks without feeding).

Some breeders advocate cooling them gradually, and only taking them down to about 55'C. I cool them fairly quickly (over the course of a couple of days) and I take them down quite a bit lower (to between 38'C to 45'C). I find that by taking them down lower, they become almost totally inactive, and they lose virtually no weight over the course of a couple of months. Depending on age, the period for which I brumate them is lesser or greater. My tiny babies that are feeding well, get cooled for only two or three weeks while I go on winter holiday. The tiny non-feeders get brumated for about five or six weeks, and those that don't die in brumation usually emerge with healthy appetites (very few die). Yearlings go for about seven weeks. Sub-adults for eight to ten weeks. Adults for at least ten weeks, and my oldest pair (now at least 18 years old) get a full three months.
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tricia

Right now I have some kings brumating, but what if the temperature comes above 60 degrees for a day or so and then goes back down? How will that affect them?
Thanks,
Kevin
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1.2 Corns
1.1 Graybanded
2.1 Banana Cal Kings
0.3 Solomon Island Ground Boas

How do you guys keep a constant temperture for brumation? I've read that alot of people keep them in the basement. Unfortunatly in Texas most people don't have Basements. Paul I know you live in Texas and was wondering how you do it. I've been thinking about building a combo brumation box/incubator out of a soft drink cooler like you see in the stores. The cost is the biggest factor in why I haven't done this project yet. Anyone with any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.
jim

Well from everything I've read, it is fine as long as it stays below 60 degrees. So if you have anyplace that stays lower than 60 degree it should work great. Is there even a crawl space under your house, because that is where I keep mine. What kind of temperatures do you get where you live during the winter?
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1.2 Corns (2 striped and 1 okeetee)
1.1 Graybanded
2.1 Banana Cal Kings
0.3 Solomon Island Ground Boas

Thanks for the reply. The temps vary quite a bit here. Last night it got down to 26. High today is supposed to be 65. No I dont have a crawl space under my house. The only place in my house that gets below 60 is the garage, but on warm days it will be to warm for brumating. I,m stumped. I guess my only option would be to refrigerate.

Yeah I live in California and experience the same dilemma, but right now I have some under my house and I will see what happens in the spring. I've heard that they will breen even without cooling them down, so I'm not worried about it. Be careful about refrigerating because I'm not sure how much oxygen they will get inside a fridge. Good luck!
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1.2 Corns (2 striped and 1 okeetee)
1.1 Graybanded
2.1 Banana Cal Kings
0.3 Solomon Island Ground Boas

My snakes are still not under 75 degrees i've kept them in the lower part of the range (75--85 is what I read for constant temperature). I know that they need the heat to help digest food, but what I am saying is that even though they went from 85 to 75-80 (depending on temperature outside) they are still very active. I was hoping to see them calm down some before I stopped feeding and finally dropped them to 60. I have also read that some corns don't need to be cooled to reproduce next spring should I try that approach. Like I said until I see them calming down I don't want to go any further. Don't want to lose one of my children.