Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I need to know what the time period for brumating is for burms. Mine are in brumation now and I was going to keep them there till February. Any advise would be great as I've only bred colubrids before.

What is your current nightly low and daily high temperature cycle?

Kelly

Nightly low drops to the mid 60's and daily high is in the low 70's.

You will most likely run into problems if you maintain that temp regime for any length of time. In the past, I always ran low 80's for a daily high and about 70 for a nightly low. I was careful not to let it drop below 70 at night as your chances of an RI episode were greatly increased. It is also important to see that the daily high is raised back up to at least 80. Back in the late 1970's and up through the 1980's when wild caught specimens were the main breeders, these pythons could withstand greater temperature fluctuations than the current inbred stock. Also, many breeders maintain their gestating females at abnormally high temps and this also appears to have an effect on the resiliency and future fitness of the offspring, especially with regards to health issues.

Kelly

How long do you maintain those temps? I'll adjust the stat tonight. Thank you for the help
-JT

Generally both sexes are cooled at these temps for a couple of months before introduction and then for an additional month after intro. Myself and a few others believe that toward the end of the mating period, and during the initial gestation stage, the female should be allowed a temperature gradient of from 75 to 90 degrees. Observation under these conditions will show that the female prefers the cooler temps of this gradient until shortly after ovulation, at which time she will begin to utilize the warmer areas of the gradient. After the pre-lay shed and a few weeks before oviposition, the females can be seen using the warmest sections of this gradient.

Kelly