Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I have a pair of corns that I want to breed. The first time I breed them (last year). It was an acidetn and the female was too young. I only got 7 eggs and 6 hatched. I did not cool them at all. If I cooled them this time do you think I would get more eggs? The coolest palce I have is my garge, can I set a heat pad on a thermostat to come on if it gets below 40?
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0.3 Normal Leopard geckos
1.0 High Yellow Leo
1.2 Albino Leos
3.1 Frilled Dragons
0.0.7 Baby Bearded Dragons
1.4 Adult Bearded Dragons
0.0.4 D. Leucomelas
1.0 Adult Albino Corn
0.1.1 Normal Corns
1.1 Creamcicle Corns
0.0.1 Crimson Corn

I was wondering the same thing.
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1.2 Corns
1.1 Graybanded
2.1 Banana Cal Kings
0.3 Solomon Island Ground Boas

lol, me too!
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-Lauren

~ Lauren's Lizards ~

groups.yahoo.com/group/LaurensLizards

I've never brumated my cornsnakes (my females aren't big enough to breed yet), but I have read that you shouldn't let the temp get below 50 degrees. In my opinion you should really change the setting on that heat pad so you don't end up killing your snakes. At 40 degrees, you may end up with a dead snake.

You want the temps to be between 50 and 60, with the ideal temp being 55.
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alstiver@hotmail.com

Current snakes:
1.0 '01 Hypo snow cornsnake (Tesla Coil)
0.1 '02 Ghost (pastel) cornsnake (Banshee)
1.1 '02 Bloodred cornsnakes (Desi and Luci Too)
To be added in Spring:
0.1 '98 Het Hypo, Het Caramel cornsnake
1.0 '00 Hypo Het Caramel cornsnake

>>I've never brumated my cornsnakes (my females aren't big enough to breed yet), but I have read that you shouldn't let the temp get below 50 degrees. ...

I do brumate mine, even little babies, and I don't aim for mid-50's temps. At that level, the snakes are only being cooled, they aren't being brumated.

>>You want the temps to be between 50 and 60, with the ideal temp being 55.

I always take mine well below 50. This hasn't resulted in me losing any more than if they were at higher temp. It does ensure that they become so inactive that they lose little or no weight while they're brumating. They warmer they are, the more active they'll be, and the more weight they'll lose.

The only animals that I've ever lost in brumation, were a couple of very small non-feeder hatchlings that would have died whether they were brumated or not.

I've also read of breeders that take their animals down to just a couple of degrees above freezing, and have no problems with it. Of course, it is entirely up to each of us to decide for ourselves how low to go with it, but in my opinion, lower temps are preferable.
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tricia

Well like I said, I've never brumated any of mine. The info I posted was just what I have heard from other people who have had experience (both good and bad) brumating their snakes.
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alstiver@hotmail.com

Current snakes:
1.0 '01 Hypo snow cornsnake (Tesla Coil)
0.1 '02 Ghost (pastel) cornsnake (Banshee)
1.1 '02 Bloodred cornsnakes (Desi and Luci Too)
To be added in Spring:
0.1 '98 Het Hypo, Het Caramel cornsnake
1.0 '00 Hypo Het Caramel cornsnake

Just my observation from last year when I brumated my male and female for the first time for breeding. Once they were warmed up and starting eating again, their growth really took off. They were both 3 years old and their growth from March to June of this past year was incredible.

I don't know if the brumation had anything to do with it but my younger brother raised a corn years ago that was never brumated and the growth was slow and steady as opposed to a huge jump both of mine expierenced while already into adulthood.

My snow last year laid 15 eggs! Of them 13 hatched, and the two that didn't I think was my fault for letting them get too dry. I didn't brumate her or the male, and the 13 babies are big and healthy. I'm not planning on brumating this year either, and she's going to have a younger man this year...so we'll see how well he does without brumating.
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Dianne
AKA IcedGoddess
0.1 Snow (Ruby)
1.0 Anery A (Breaden)
0.0.4 Normal het-snow (no names yet)
1.1 Bloodred (Vlad the Impailer and Natasha)
0.1 Anery Stripe (Morticia)
1.0 Candy Cane (Kane)
0.1 Amel (Christine)
1.3 Cats (Alexys{f}, Mikki{f}, Timothy{m}, Seven{f})
0.1 Child
IcedGoddess Creations
Castle Serpents

The corns that live in Florida may never experience temperatures cold enough to brumate at all. Corns comming from the northern part of their range may get very cold in some areas. If they have found a good place to spend the winter it may not get below zero but I'd bet they certainly get below freezing.

If you are going to brumate, the worst thing you could do is leave them too warm. Mid sixties and low seventies, and their metabolism will not slow down enough. The bacterias in their stomach will still be active. I think if you can't get them below 60* you should not brumate at all.
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Wade's Weptiles & Wodents

How do the snakes keep from freezing in below freezing tempuratures? I mean seriously freezing like when they become hard and everything is frozen. If you put a mouse in below freezing, it will freeze stiff, how does a snake keep from freezing stiff?
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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

>>How do the snakes keep from freezing in below freezing tempuratures? I mean seriously freezing like when they become hard and everything is frozen. If you put a mouse in below freezing, it will freeze stiff, how does a snake keep from freezing stiff?
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when snakes brumate in the wild they either do so below the frost line (underground) or in cover such as deep leaf litter where the decomposition of the debris will keep the temperatures above freezing.
The above are just a couple of the many types of areas corns might find to brumate.
If a snake is in below freezing temperatures for any length of time it can and most likely will kill it. The longer it is exposed to below freezing temps the more likely it is to freeze to death.
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Remember, my posts are MY opinion only.
Jimmy (draybar)

That was my thinking last year. Plus I was very new to snakes and not sure I wouldn't kill her by brumating her too cold or not cold enough. It was both parents first breeding, and my first time as well. Worked out just fine with no brumation.

I think if I had more snakes though, I would brumate in the winter if for no other reason than to save a few $ in mice and rats But as long as it isn't "necessary" to their health, and I don't have a good place to do it, I won't bother.

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Dianne
AKA IcedGoddess
0.1 Snow (Ruby)
1.0 Anery A (Breaden)
0.0.4 Normal het-snow (no names yet)
1.1 Bloodred (Vlad the Impailer and Natasha)
0.1 Anery Stripe (Morticia)
1.0 Candy Cane (Kane)
0.1 Amel (Christine)
1.3 Cats (Alexys{f}, Mikki{f}, Timothy{m}, Seven{f})
0.1 Child
IcedGoddess Creations
Castle Serpents

I have two of my snakes brumating right now.
I am trying a mini experiment. I have two pairs I am planning to breed. I have one pair (creams) in a mini fridge brumating and the other pair (ghost/snow) going about their normal business.
I will see what happens in the spring. See if one pair does any better then the other. Which pair produces the most eggs, or the most viable eggs and maybe the stronger or larger hatchlings. Something like that.
It makes me nervous having the two brumating and if the non-brumating pair does as well as the brumating pair, I might not worry through brumation again.
The two creams have been in a mini refrigerator, with temps that range from 46 to 50 degrees, since the week before Thanksgiving.
From my research it would seem that those are pretty much the proper temps for brumation so after a couple of weeks of testing temperature settings I found the right settings to hold a pretty stable range.
I hope that all goes well and they make it through to the first of February.
After I bring them out of brumation, get them feeding and the female has had her first shed, I will put them together. At the same time I will put the other pair together and will see what happens.
Sorry to ramble
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Remember, my posts are MY opinion only.
Jimmy (draybar)

That's a good idea! I only have one female old enough to breed, and I'm not positive her new boyfriend will be big enough to get the job done But I'm interested in hearing your results, Because when I do start breeding more than one female a year, I can see brumating being a nice $ saver when they're eating juvie rats once a week! (But I'd have to either wait till after xmas or wake them up before it, so they can have a little holiday feast Last year ruby was bred by January 16th, she laid on March 16 and they hatched on may 16...I thought it was pretty cool how she did it so perfectly chronological
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Dianne
AKA IcedGoddess
0.1 Snow (Ruby)
1.0 Anery A (Breaden)
0.0.4 Normal het-snow (no names yet)
1.1 Bloodred (Vlad the Impailer and Natasha)
0.1 Anery Stripe (Morticia)
1.0 Candy Cane (Kane)
0.1 Amel (Christine)
1.3 Cats (Alexys{f}, Mikki{f}, Timothy{m}, Seven{f})
0.1 Child
IcedGoddess Creations
Castle Serpents

>>That's a good idea! I only have one female old enough to breed, and I'm not positive her new boyfriend will be big enough to get the job done But I'm interested in hearing your results, Because when I do start breeding more than one female a year, I can see brumating being a nice $ saver when they're eating juvie rats once a week! (But I'd have to either wait till after xmas or wake them up before it, so they can have a little holiday feast Last year ruby was bred by January 16th, she laid on March 16 and they hatched on may 16...I thought it was pretty cool how she did it so perfectly chronological

Pretty cool...16th 16th 16th
Brumation can be a good way to cut back on feeding time but I am nervous as hell with my two creams in brumation.
If they do well then I probably wont be as nervous next time.
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Remember, my posts are MY opinion only.
Jimmy (draybar)

I didn't brumate my corns last year and I got 17 eggs from a first-time pair. All the eggs were good and resulted in 17 healthy babies.

Also, I don't know what kind of temperatures you get in your garage, but I don't know if I would rely on just a heat pad (which seems to warm the surface much more than the air) if the ambient temp gets really cold.

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-audri
Webpage/Pics

it doesn't........

I bred hundreds of babies from brumated corns and non-brumated corns....

I have had hundreds of good eggs and hundreds of dud eggs.....

it didn't matter if I cooled to 60 or to 45 or didn't cool them at all.........

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one thing that did hurt more tan anything..(well 2)......snakes too fat and cages too small..........

good luck.......

JYReptiles............

When you say the snake being too fat makes a difference do you mean with the male or female (or both).
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Anna

The Zoo
Corns
1.0 Snow - Cornelius
1.1 Ghost(pastel) - Eek & Boo
0.1 Amel - Scarlet
0.1 Hypo - Nikko
0.1 Anery - Missy
0.1 Hypo Motley - Cordelia aka Cordy
Boas
0.1 Columbian (BCC) - Bella
Lizards
0.0.1 Leopard Gecko - Leo
Rats
0.1 Dumbo Agouti - Moon
1.0 Standard Black - Pluto
Cats
1.1 Siamese - Blue & Fiona
0.1 Gray DMS - Druscilla aka Dru
Horses
1.0 Thourghbred (Hunter/Jumper) - Morgan's Majesty aka Cody