I try to mimic nature. I have a Peruvian boa. Where he comes from, it's always humid, it rains almost every day, the average daytime high is about 89 degrees, and the nightime low is about 71 degrees. The highs and lows vary only a few degrees throughout the year because they are so close to the equator. The tropical rainforest doesn't really experience seasons. Now further north and south of the equator, there is a little more tempeature variance and a more defined rainy sason. Peru is just south of the equator, so average temps drop only a couple degrees during July and August, but that's about it.
If one were to mimic this environment, they would keep their room at about 70 - 72 degrees year round and put their cage lights and heating devices on a 12 hour on/off cycle timer. Sun comes up about 6am and sets at about 6pm in Peru. The under tank heater or hot spot lamp would start to warm the ambient cage temp when the lights come on....just like mother nature does. When the lights go out, it would slowly cool down again. You could have a rock or something in the hot spot of your cage that would absorb the heat and stay warm for a while after the lights go out. However, to be safe and reduce the risk of digestion problems and respiratory infections, most boa keepers won't let their nighttime temps drop below 75 degrees and they keep their undertank heaters on 24/7.
From this, you can see why some breeders don't worry about cooling their females before breeding them. In nature, they never experience a significant cooling period. I think they're like most animals....they go into "heat" when the time is right. The forced cooling probably does have an effect on triggering their reproductive cycle, though. This stuff applies to snakes near the equator. For those further away, there is more variance, and I would encourage you to learn about the climate in your snake's native country.
Tyler
