Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Well I would like to take everyones opinion on brumating snakes in a fridge or wine cooler. I cant seem to get my mini frige above 50 degrees! my concern is how can the snakes get oxygen, and how can I get the temperature closer to 60 degrees. Is there a risk of respirtory problems when brumating a snake? If you have any suggests of a differnt way to brumate the snakes(that is space conserving) please let me know. Last I live in FL, where the temptures are not to consist during the winter, does anybody breed there snakes with out brumating them at all, especially for milksnakes from south america! Thanks
steffen

Maybe by venting the mini-frig. you can get your temp. up to your desired 60 degrees? Another option I was thinking of was a portable powered igloo cooler, venting it and trying to regulate the temps. I only have experiance brumating alb. black rats and corns, in my parents crisper of there refrigerator! Don't ask how I talked them into that one! I don't really think 10 degrees is going to make a difference as long as they have oxygen and water.Good Luck!!

I too use a small frig, and for me I put a few bathroom towels between the freezer section and the bottom part of the mini-frig. Then I took another towel and allowed it to drape over the bottom section giving further insulation from the top freezer section. This brought my temperature range to 45 - 55 degrees F. (You should have a battery powered temperature reading device that stores the minimum and maximum temps...once you have a few days of established temperature fluctuations you should be confident that your mini-frig is OK.)

I have had success with this temperature range and I have no problems with venting...just check them once a week (by checking on them it allows fresh air inside) and make sure they have water, and everything should be fine.