Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Do you have to hibernate Hondurans to get them to breed in the spring?

>>Do you have to hibernate Hondurans to get them to breed in the spring?

yep. some people might say they bred without brumating, bukt i'll bet that's not the case: they probably just mean they didn't take them down to real low temps. Remember brumation includes lower-than-normal temps; shorter-than-normal periods of "daylight" (artificial); and less-than-normal food consumption.

If someone keeps their hondos in their house with a summer temp of 78, and in winter the house goes down to 68, and if the snakes are in a room with windows for light, they're gonna get considerably shorter periods of "daylight", those two things will reduce their appetites, and even if food is offered regularly, it will be taken less often, perhaps very less often. The net results IS a form of brumation, but it's short of what most pe9ople would consider optimal, maybe around 60, no more than an hour of light a day, and no food.

From everything i've read & heard & experienced this period is necessary to trigger the reproductive changes that make the next season successful. The same is true for birds (not brumation, but seasonal chagnes, and for some species, "reduced daylight" when the birds spend hours deep in emptied out tree cavities or in captivity, in deep nest boxes). I've had people tell me they didn't brumate their animals and they still bred, but when questioned it turned out yeah, the house temp had dropped maybe 10 degrees, and yeah, the snakes did get less light, and did eat less. So i guess "brumate" is a relative term, but the change in environment, is, I think, necessary.

peace
terry