>>I am working with several asian species in florida and the winters just aren't cool enough. Some of the snakes breed but don't product viable eggs. A friend suggested using a wine chiller to cool the snakes for 3 months. The wine chillers can hold a consistant temp in the high 50s or low 60s. Has anyone used one of these before? Other suggestions?
>>Thanks
>>tom

Hey Tom, I live in south Texas, and I keep a few Asians. I use a refrigerator to brumate mine, and they have come through just fine, so far. I got an entire clutch of seven good eggs from my Chinese Beauties, this spring (see post below). I also cooled Elaphe dione and Zamenis situla in the refrigertor. I did not try to breed the dione this year, and I think I missed the window for breeding the situla (or they just did not breed). I will also be cooling two pairs of Elaphe bimaculata, this year, and hope to breed all of the above, in the spring.

Anyway - I just keep the refrigerator on the warmest setting, which seems to keep the temps between 48 - 55*F most of the time. I open the refrigerator door for a few minutes each evening, for air exchange. I keep the refrigerator outdoors, in a small shed, and during our infrequent winter freezes, I bring the snakes into the house until it warms back up to "normal". when temps are down into the 40's - 50's, at night, I turn the refrigerator off until sunrise, when temps will generally rise into the 60's - 70's. It seems like a wine chiller, which would keep the temps in the high 50's, would be perfect - especially if you keep it in the house, away from outside temp extremes.

-Toby
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Southwestern Center for Herpetological Research

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