Brumation Questions

[Regit]

Hey Guys!

I've bred for a few years now without brumation, but after this year of scattered clutches and unpredictable males/females, I would like to try brumation this year. I just have a few questions about it!

What is an optimal weight for a female to have before going into brumation? Is she going to lose any weight? Will she be able to put on weight after brumation to get up to a good breeding weight? I'm thinking of brumating anyone over 350g. Thoughts? Advice?

What is a good temperature to brumate at? Can there be a variance? As it stands, the brumation room has baseboard heating that we can't turn off, so we will be relying on the window being opened/closed to cool the room off.
What happens if they get too warm? (ie. I go to work, it's a real cold night and the window is closed for 8 hours, baseboard heating kicks in)

How long is a good brumation time? My roommate and I want to try and have early hatchlings, we're thinking of brumating early November for three weeks, warming up first week of December, and pairing from there on. Advice?

I think that's about it. I've got the basic idea down, just need to fine tune it. Any tips, suggestions, thoughts are greatly appreciated!

 

[dickdeuel]

I'm not sure about actual weight (never weighted a snake), a snake 3 1/2 ft. and over with good body weight would be ideal. I usually determine this by visual inspection and feel. Corn snakes need very little brumation but it gives breeders a few months break from feeding a large number of animals.

Your described brumation area is not a good choice. There should be as little temperature fluctuation as possible. My ideal range is around 53-58 degrees for about three to four months. You might want to look at the back corner of a closet floor for a more stable temperature. If you can't keep them cool enough or the temperatures fluctuate up and down the snakes will loose too much weight. Be sure to check them every week or two.

In the spring after they are warmed up is the best time to feed them as much as possible, especially the females. The male will stop feeding when he is aware of the female, so get a couple good feedings into him.

 

[fyrefocks]

I dont pay attention to weight since i brumate EVERYTHING. Even the leos get chilled for a bit. Its a nice vacation for me.

I would recommend longer brumation time. The way you want to do it, the snake will be off food for 5 weeks and only chilled for 3 of those weeks. It probably wont even register with the snakes biological clock. Most people brumate between 8 and 12 weeks. I brumate for 8 weeks. That means my snakes are off food for 10 weeks.

If you can keep steady temps, your animals wont lose much weight at all, but they will eat hardcore once you turn the heat on, so no worries about that. I feed the females rat pups to get some extra fat on them and i feed males whatever they will eat. I usually dont have trouble with the boys fasting so long they are removed from the female a couple days before feeding day.

I block the vents in my snake room and i crack the window. I try to keep the temps in the low 60s. I would go lower, but the leos might not like that. Ive seen people brumate in temp controlled fridges at 45 degrees, so there is a huge variant here. I would never do that, but to each his own.

Just remember to keep the heat going for 2 weeks after their last meal so nothing rots away in their stomachs.