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I need to brumate my licorice stick black rat snake, but my problem is that right now in florida its getting up in the 70's every day, and I don't have any place in my house that gets cold enough to brumate her. What should i do? She stopped eating about 3.5 weeks ago, is this a long enough time to make sure she's fully digested everything also?

Thanks for any input.
-chris
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-Chris

The reason mainstream thought is thought of as a stream is because it's so shallow. -George Carlin

A fool doesn't learn. A smart man learns from his mistakes. A wise man learns from the mistakes of others. Which one are you?

My Website
N. American Rat/Corn snake care sheet I wrote

Current snakes:
0.1 Licorice Stick Black Rat (Lola)
1.0 Black Rat (Frankie)
1.1 Texas Bairds (Jose and Rosa)
0.1 Blue Beauty (Brunhilde)
1.0 Green Tree Python (Claudius)... coming soon

>>I need to brumate my licorice stick black rat snake, but my problem is that right now in florida its getting up in the 70's every day, and I don't have any place in my house that gets cold enough to brumate her. What should i do? She stopped eating about 3.5 weeks ago, is this a long enough time to make sure she's fully digested everything also?
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Know anyone that has a portable refrigerator you could borrow for a couple of months. I'm sure you have seen the little 'fridges for camping or dorm rooms. If you could get one of those they work great. Brumated a couple of snakes in one last season.
I think the 3 1/2 weeks should be plenty of time for her to empty out.
Sorry, don't really know what else to tell you.
Unless you can crank up the AC in one room.
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Corn snakes and rat snakes..No one can have just one.
"resistance is futile"
Jimmy (draybar)

Draybars Snakes

I have one of those little fridges that isnt being used... but how do i make it so that it doesnt get too cold and get proper ventilation in it? Take the door off and replace it with pegboard?
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-Chris

The reason mainstream thought is thought of as a stream is because it's so shallow. -George Carlin

A fool doesn't learn. A smart man learns from his mistakes. A wise man learns from the mistakes of others. Which one are you?

My Website
N. American Rat/Corn snake care sheet I wrote

Current snakes:
0.1 Licorice Stick Black Rat (Lola)
1.0 Black Rat (Frankie)
1.1 Texas Bairds (Jose and Rosa)
0.1 Blue Beauty (Brunhilde)
1.0 Green Tree Python (Claudius)... coming soon

>>I have one of those little fridges that isnt being used... but how do i make it so that it doesnt get too cold and get proper ventilation in it? Take the door off and replace it with pegboard?
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>>-Chris
>>

Just turn it on the warmest setting. It should level out at around 47 or 48 degrees.
I just poked a hole through the rubber door seal. This let in air but didn't effect the temps.
Just opening the door every few days to check on the water will actually let in enough air. They don't need a lot of air anyway and when brumating they need even less.
When I brumated my corns last season, the fridge stayed between 45 to 47 and there was no noticeable weight loss, they came through it just fine and produced some nice babies.
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Corn snakes and rat snakes..No one can have just one.
"resistance is futile"
Jimmy (draybar)

Draybars Snakes

You may not need to brumate just because your black rat stopped eating. If my memory serves me (and it doesn't always!), your snake is young enough that you are not planning to breed. Am I right about this? If/when you try to breed, black rats will usually need to be cooled.

If you are just worrying about the fasting...don't. Perfectly normal this time of year, and he won't starve himself to death. Try MUCH smaller meals (I have a "greenish" rat that will only eat mouse pinkies right now, even though he was up to rat fuzzies last summer). Most of my obsoleta have now come out of their fasts, but it seems a matter of course with some of them, and the short days seem to be as much a factor as anything else.

That said...If you want to try and "jump start" your snake...the 'fridge or ac suggestions are pretty good. You won't need a true brumation just to jump-start the feeding, so a few weeks at something as close to 60 as you can get AND total darkeness should do. Basements are good for the above, but in Florida they are pretty rare. Above all...Don't worry. Your snake will be fine. Duffy By the way...Nice animal, that little licorice stick!

She's just about 2 yeard old... she was hatched back in April of 2003. I dont know if i'm ever going to play my hand at breeding them... if I do it wont be for at least 3 years. So should I just turn off the heat to the tank or put her in a closet or what?
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-Chris

The reason mainstream thought is thought of as a stream is because it's so shallow. -George Carlin

A fool doesn't learn. A smart man learns from his mistakes. A wise man learns from the mistakes of others. Which one are you?

My Website
N. American Rat/Corn snake care sheet I wrote

Current snakes:
0.1 Licorice Stick Black Rat (Lola)
1.0 Black Rat (Frankie)
1.1 Texas Bairds (Jose and Rosa)
0.1 Blue Beauty (Brunhilde)
1.0 Green Tree Python (Claudius)... coming soon

For what it's worth, I totally agree with Duffy. In fact, when I first read of your brumation plans, my reaction was "WHY?". If your not going to breed them, then by all means keep them active. If you get too worried about lack of feeding, and I do mean TOO worried, have a vet give the snake a shot of flagyl. That will perk up the old appetite.
Cheers!

I was under the impression that if they went off feed they had to be brumated. So should I turn off the heat to her tank or just leave it on and try feeding again in a month or so? I've tried day old pinks by the way... she won't eat them either.

In the past few weeks since she stopped feeding, she has acutally gotten a lot more active! Its strange, I never saw her out on the climbing sticks i put in there, but recently she's been all over them.
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-Chris

The reason mainstream thought is thought of as a stream is because it's so shallow. -George Carlin

A fool doesn't learn. A smart man learns from his mistakes. A wise man learns from the mistakes of others. Which one are you?

My Website
N. American Rat/Corn snake care sheet I wrote

Current snakes:
0.1 Licorice Stick Black Rat (Lola)
1.0 Black Rat (Frankie)
1.1 Texas Bairds (Jose and Rosa)
0.1 Blue Beauty (Brunhilde)
1.0 Green Tree Python (Claudius)... coming soon

I almost wonder if the snake wasn't getting some A/C blowing on him before and now the heater is on more often... If he's getting more active now, it seems like that could be the issue. Don't forget, as ectotherms, they don't need to feed as often if they are cool because they don't metabolize their energy resources. That's why i think the brumation decision is a judgment call. It certainly isn't mandatory but it could help him restart if you are worried. In my limited experience, you don't usually need to put them down deep to help your situation. Just get them as cool as you can for a few weeks and that may be enough. Snakes can go a long time without eating. When I first got my Climacophoras, (they were adults) it took me 113 days to get the male eating. Now he is a very reliable feeder and doing quite well. If he isn't losing weight, I wouldn't worry yet. I would vote for just turnng off his heater and put him in your coolest place. One of my favorite ways to get someone eating again is to go to a single live pinkie. A lto of times, they can't resist that little morsel and it restarts the feeding response. In the words of Ronda Van Winkle, "Never underestimate the power of the pinkie." I'd like to put in a plug for Kathy and Bill Love's "The Corn Snake Manual." It's a great book about caring for Corns but it also applies well to North American Rat Snakes. It does a good job of answering all of the question you've asked lately. I think you would find it very helpful and its not expensive. I think its about $12 and you cna find it at lots of pet stores.

You can do any number of things really and all will be OK.

You can keep offering food each week. Smaller meals would be best. In all liklihood, the snake will start eating again soon.

You can turn off the heat, try to find at least a slightly cooler location/room, and cover the tank for 3-4 weeks. Then bring the snake back to normal conditions. I bet it will feed within a week of this.

Opt for a full brumation using the fridge. Probably not needed, but it is an option. This would be my least favorite choice personally in your situation.

The important thing: Your snake will be AOK. These seasonal fasts are completely normal. They neither surprise nor concern me anymore. Duffy