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The vet has a strange idea

E

ERJ

New member
Firstly this is about a Japanese ratsnake (i do have a corn also) and the reason i am posting it here is because i believe people have more experiance here, etc. sorry for any inconveniances caused.
anyway, he hasn't eaten for over 5 weeks now (hes a year old)so i thought i better go the the vet (a good snake vet). so he suggested i put it in hibernation. he said i should slowly cool he down by
1. turning off heat mat.
2. a few days later moving him into a colder room.
3. colder room, etc.
4. now this is the strange one: after two weeks of slowly cooling him down, to put him in the fridge (4C) and leaving him in there for just under 2 weeks.
now i'm am going to start cooling him but could you guys tell me what you think about the fridge and hibernation?
thanks
 
I think the fridge is a bit <i>too</i> much. I'd probably just put the snake in a cool place. I think four degrees is a bit too cold. But then again, I'm not a vet (yet).
 
Thats 4C not 4F... but Im not even sure what that is in F... I dont really know the whole purpuse to putting him in hibernation... other then it might cause some sort of reaction to feed when he wakes up... but of course Im not a vet either!
 
4C == 49.2F

Given that 0c/42f is water's freezing point, it seems a lil cold to me, but now I've done the conversion, maybe a few of the experts here can give a lil more advice.
 
wait I though 32F was the freezing point of water. so therfore 0C would be equal to 32F. Correct me if I am wrong here please...
 
Jr Nimeskern said:
Thats 4C not 4F...
Click to expand...

Yeah, I know, thanks. I'm not stupid.

Yeah 32F is water's freezing point and, as far as I know, 4C is 39F
 
Last edited:
sorry, my bad, it is 32... in that case it's 39.2F... still WAY too low ;)
 
Ok so if that is too low could someone tell me exactly what to do to put him into hibernation please?
 
I've read that 7-18 degrees C is good (45-64 F). I'd aim for something in the middle.
 
The 45-65F hibernation temps are for corn snakes. I don't know about Japanese ratsnakes. If you could find any published references/care sheets/etc on them, that should hopefully tell you if the cooler fridge temps for hibernation are more correct or not. What is correct for one species may not be for another.
 
4oC is 39.2F. Thats a little low for climacophora (I'm assuming it is just a japanese ratsnake and not a japanese forest??) I have heard that juveniles are big problem feeders and would have thought that 5 weeks of not eating is nothing to be worried about. My corn had nothing for about 4 months! If there is a reason for your snake not eating (illness) then you should most definately not put it into brumation. I think a bit more tests etc and time should be taken before jumping into brumation especially as no-one knows the exact temps....
 
I have just one question. I thought that you should make sure that a snake is well fed before you put it into hibernation. If this snake has not eaten for 5 weeks will it make it through hibernation?
Jimmy C.
 
I'd say fed yeah, but make sure it's digested. The last thing you want is a snake with a pinky rotting in its stomach for a few weeks while it's sleeping in the cool :)
 
yes

You would want to fed well before brumation, but three weeks before or so you should stop all feeding to make sure the gut has had plently of time to become totally clear. Some people stop two weeks, some a month before.

bmm
 
Well he hasn't eaten for over 5 weeks so theres nothing in the gut but does that mean hes to unhealthy to survive hibernation, he is well keep and the vet said he was very healthy.
 
Climacophora are picky eaters at times....I had a female yearling go 3 months without a meal, then she started chowing down when I tease fed her. She might be trying to shut down for the winter on her own...what are the conditions like where you are?
 
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