Brumating

BTW...interesting approach by Don

Hi, I'm new here, but have been keeping & breeding snakes 20+ years. I've never brumated my corns, & have had some good results in corn breeding.

I found my females to be most amenable to breeding immediately after shedding. They actually have hormonal cycles throughout the month (or time between sheds). Their next peak comes about 4 days after shedding, then about a week after that. I don't have the exact timetable any more, but could probably find it again.

I never had a separate bin for breeding. I learned, after one try, never put the male in the female's habitat. If she's not ready, she panics & does her best to escape, taking some time to calm down. So, I always let she visit he.

First thing she always seems to do is look for a water bowl and have a long drink, while the male notices she's there. If she's not ready, her response will be to look for a quick way out, so I'm ready to remove her immediately & place her back into her own enclosure.

If the female is ready to breed, her response will be to allow the male to stroke her back with his chin. While they do move in jerky stops & starts, that behavior isn't limited to a breeding response. But, as he slowly works his way up her back, she will remain still & raise her tail in the air.

The actual time of the act varies, but once the pair has finished, the male will many times coil up beside his mate, occasionally stroking her back with his chin. I'd then remove the female to her own enclosure.

One of my males, a beautiful brown anerythristic, was a champion breeder. He was so sure of himself, he'd refuse to breed the same female again. I could introduce another female, he'd mate with her once, then turn her down as well. He fathered 4 large healthy clutches of eggs in one day!

One year I'd decided to give one of the moms a year off from breeding (one of my older ones). It was a complete surprise when she laid a clutch of 17 healthy eggs anyway!

I'm sorry if this was too long or contains extraneous information. I tend to get excited about snake breeding.

Thanks clmerritt. Now I find this all interesting in that we are now saying to move the males from female to female in one day or over a few days until the sperms supply runs out. The former idea of letting them rest is not necessary?

The reason I use an empty bin is so neither snake gets substrate stuck somewhere it shouldn't be, and to see evidence of breeding if I haven't been watching.

OK I'm going to add to my questions since I've always brumated in the past and probably won't this year. Since I've brumated in the past I always had my girls set when I wanted everyone to breed. If brumating is not necessary can I breed different pairs throughout the year? I know breeders have their seasons to breed but can I breed a pair this month an a different pair another month of the year to stretch out my breeding season if I chose to?

It's going to depend on when the females are receptive. They aren't like humans, where they are fertile each month. My girls will usually ONLY breed in march/april, and june/july.

Am I wrong when I said that I've heard breeders breed throughout the year?