Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I'm looking into getting a female black rat to make a pair and I'd like to get some pointers even though it'll be a good while before I can breed them. I've bred corns, so I'm mostly just looking to find out how black rats differ? Should incubation temps be different or are their clutch sizes different? Also, what's a good rule of thumb for determining if a female is large enough to breed? Thanks in advance for any help.

One of the biggest factors to consider is the fact that corns can generally be bred without actual brumation, while black rats being a northern snake will require a true winter brumation period to cycle up. That gives you the whole winter to research the rest of your question and find that they are otherwise basically a ratsnake just as the corn is. Duffy

This last winter my yearling male went off food for a few months, and I'm located within their range so I can see how that would make sense. Is that sort of temporary slowdown what is needed as far as brumation or would I actually have to cool them somehow?

With black rats you really need to cool them. Many ratsnakes, even corns and other more southerly ones, will slow down or even fast for awhile when the days grow short. But black rats will need to be fully brumated if you want a high probability of breeding them. Down near 50 for 2-3 months would be about right, although others can give you more exact temps and times.
Duffy

np