Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I have read in various publications and on this forum many breeders recommend not subjecting your male pyro and zonata to high temps after brumation due to sterility concerns. Some say don't keep your males above 72 degrees while others say keep them below 90. What do those of you who have had good success breeding pyros or zonatas do? If you keep them at low temps what about feeding them and concerns about digesting their food at such low temps?

Room temperature my good man. No higher would be my recommendation. And a gradual warming at that.

Jerry Kruse

Thanks for the reply Jerry.So your males eat and digest at room temps without problems? Or do they not eat during breeding out of brumation. Here in Minnesota room temps would be about 68 degrees in March.

Hey Pat,

Minnesota, eh? Yeah, pretty damn cold up there from what I've heard. What you COULD do to give the temperature a slight boost is to hook up a very simple Flexwatt heat strip to a dimmer (OR you could use a Helix system, but more money) and incorporate and indoor/outdoor thermometer (Radio Shack) to monitor the heat tape. Adjust the dimmer accordingly so that the heat tape will be warm enough for a low-70's reading on the thermometer. You may slip that under the cages to give a slight increase of warmth without worrying about overheating and sterilizing the male/s. Feel fre to e-mail me and I could send you a pic of my set-up here at home.

Jerry Kruse

I did not forget about you. I'll snap off a few pics and shoot 'em over to you by the weekend (regarding the Flexwatt/thermometer use...). Until then.

Jerry

No problem Jerry. Thanks for your help.