Reptile & Amphibian Forums

From experience, how crucial is the wintering step to successful corn snake breeding? I have two adult corn snakes that i am considering trying to breed next year and i do not have the ability to cool the snakes. What is the likelihood of success without wintering? If successful will it affect clutch size or any other aspect of the process? Thanks.

It's not impossible to successfully breed them without a brumation (cool down), but my experience is it does effect the size and fertility of the Clutch. If you have the ability, then I suggest you do it. It also saves on mice, and gives the snakes a break.
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Disclaimer: I do keep several snakes in pairs, and some in groups. However I realize that things can go wrong, and I have to keep a close eye on those groups, to be sure they are not being adversely affected by these living conditions. Also if one happens to eat it's cagemate, it is 100% my fault, and I know the risks in advance!

What's wrong with using CAUTION?!?!?!
King Snakes! Who can make a better mouse trap?
~ Jorge Sierra www.SierraSnakes.com

The first two years I bred corns, back in 2004 and 2005, I did not brumate. They ate steadily all winter, and the female produced large clutches fertile eggs both years. I think the change in seasons, with decreasing and then increasing daylight hours, can trigger formation of ova and sperm.

Hear are a couple of pics from the 2004 breeding.

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Kent

I successfuly bred corns for years and never wintered them. Didn't even cool them down... kept them at the same temps and the same feeding schedule year round. the only thing that changed was the light cycle as they were in a room with a lot of windows.

3 winters ago I cooled my corns for the first time ever along with some of my other rats and kings. The cooling went fine, all kept weight, all stayed healthy as a horse but they did not breed. 2 winters ago I cooled them again and while they did breed that year, I got about 90% slugs.

So, while I realize some keepers swear by cooling their corns, I for one will never do it again because it seems to mess mine up.

I didn't breed anything this year due to moving, but I will be breeding a pair of miamis, pair of blood reds, and possibly a pair of abbott okeetees (if i can get them up to size) next spring. I won't be cooling them and i'll bet a whole paycheck i'll have excellent results.

Man,Dont waste your time with that-"brumation"-garbadge/with corns.Do make sure the female-you are planning on breeding- is very well fed,the year prior.I got nice big babys again this year.Hope your Dumerils is still kicking.PEACE

And have had clutches in the 20's most of the time. I have a rack I built myself with heat pads for heat I think the natural temp, changes and light changes are enough. They stay on the same feeding routine all year. I also do Ball Pythons the same way and get about eight eggs per clutch almost never get slugs I get more from the Corns

Sounds like lot's of people don't brumate? That's cool. if it works, it works. I have a diverse collection, and I just brumate all of them together. I have had corns lay, that weren't brumated, however the clutches had lots of duds. I don't have windows in there so maybe, that was a factor.
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Disclaimer: I do keep several snakes in pairs, and some in groups. However I realize that things can go wrong, and I have to keep a close eye on those groups, to be sure they are not being adversely affected by these living conditions. Also if one happens to eat it's cagemate, it is 100% my fault, and I know the risks in advance!

What's wrong with using CAUTION?!?!?!
King Snakes! Who can make a better mouse trap?
~ Jorge Sierra www.SierraSnakes.com

This is very interesting. a153fish, I would certainly take any of your advice as accurate and reliable. Light must have alot to do with it. I do know for certain that my Bairds rat snake relates to photo period and photo period alone. Like clockwork he stops eating when the days get shorter. My corns dont seem to care. I will try my hand next season without wintering and see how it goes. liljenni, The girl i WANT to breed is a terrible eater and i am not planning on breeding her. The girl i am going to breed is like a garbage disposal. My dumerils is doing wonderful btw thank you for asking. A perfect snake minus the constant 'peeing' lol.

Yeah, I live on the east coeast of central Florida and I have many different types here and don't ever do any "formal" brumation either. There is a window for them to sense the photoperiod and they get exposed to some cooler temps here and there with the cooler months, but they are never exposed to prolonged very cool periods at all. I've had very good success with corns in the past and have had GREAT fertility and clutch sizes in the past as well. a153fish (Jorge) can attest to this too because he has a huge female corn that I used to have that laid a whopping 35 good eggs prior to him getting her. all hatched and were very healthy too. This year was even MUCH MILDER as far as cool weather goes and again, a 15 egg clutch out of a small female,...all good!

Certainly nothing wrong with doing it either though, and it can also have some benefits as Jorge also mentioned too. My Hondurans are the same way too, as well as most of my kings, with the likely exception of the Outer Banks that are a more northern race of the getula complex. Since when does it ever get 55-60 degrees for 2 or 3 months down in Nicaragua or Honduras?..LOL!

~Doug
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"a snake in the grass is a GOOD thing"

serpentinespecialties.webs.com

I guess I should add that living in Central Florida, what i call brumation is just leaving them in a room without heat which as Doug said, is not very long exposure to very cold temps. Probably in the low to mid 60's for a couple months, but I don't feed during that time.
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Disclaimer: I do keep several snakes in pairs, and some in groups. However I realize that things can go wrong, and I have to keep a close eye on those groups, to be sure they are not being adversely affected by these living conditions. Also if one happens to eat it's cagemate, it is 100% my fault, and I know the risks in advance!

What's wrong with using CAUTION?!?!?!
King Snakes! Who can make a better mouse trap?
~ Jorge Sierra www.SierraSnakes.com

A buddy of mine had a few corns in his kingsnake room. He cooled them to 55 deg for 3-4 months along with his kings. Never got many eggs, nor many good eggs from those corns, but the kings did great.

He finally put the corns in his warm room (warm all year) and they produced nicely.

For corns I can see where small or no brumation would be the norm. In the southeast there can be 10-11 months of warm weather for the snakes in the wild.

Here in Arizona it can be quite diverse as I live in the high country (5,000 ft) and it does get cold up here......so I brumate my snakes for 4 months as that is the weather outside. Although I only have cal kings now I used to have a bunch of corns, ratsnakes, milks, gophers, rosy boas, etc.... and they were all brumated for 4 months (55-65 degrees). Dark and cool for 4 months, no food, just fresh water. But in the low desert of Arizona there can be 10-11 months of nice weather, so some may not brumate at all.

Kerby...
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Life is like a bunch of fish in an aquarium....we all get along (bonding) until I want to eat you....and I do.