Brumating Q's: Headstart

[Zephyr]

I know it may be a little early looking in to this, but I have some major brumation Q's I'd prefer to ask now so I won't be panicking at the last minute.
This year, most if not all of my snakes will be brumated. I won't be doing the minimum; all will be brumated for around 6 months.
My questions start here:
1. I have multiple species that seem to require the same temps. Can I do group brumating?
2. Is 45 Fahrenheit a good temp for brumating?
3. I read once that people brumated other snakes, even tropical ones, and very low temperatures. My ribbon snake is obviously used to higher temps, should she be brumated at 45 with the rest of them?
4. Is a 5 degree drop every week a good way to adjust the temps? Same with bringing them out of brumation.

[Stefan-A]

1 & 2. In my opinion, yes.
3. I've never heard of anyone brumating tropical species at such low temperatures.
4. I've brumated a snake once. I pretty much moved it from heated to room temperature to 10 degrees Celsius in two days, without any problems. I've been told that others have moved them directly to brumating temperatures without any adjusting and without problems.

[Zephyr]

Yeah, apparently people have done it with house snakes and ball pythons.

[ssssnakeluvr]

well.....ball pythons will die in 45 degrees....found that out the hard way! 6 months is a long hibernation...you gotta make sure you are checking on them at least twice a week. you need to make sure th eres no condensation on the side of the cages...don't want it too humid. also, keep species separate on the off chance they might try breeding while in hibernation.

[aSnakeLovinBabe]

lol... you are going a bit gung ho with this brumation thing eh? 6 months, half a year... thats waaayy longer than necessary... why put them under for THAT long when it's not needed? Even here in PA, during warmer winters garter snakes are out till as late as november and can be back as early as late february!!! 3 or 4 months is the maxiumum amount of time I would keep my snakes under for... simply because I feel that any longer and you are simulating a relatively harsh winter that simply doesnt happen every year and simply is not necessary to stimulate cycling and breeding. We are trying to provide the very optimal conditions for our garters... having them out for half a year is not optimal and I don't see how it can benefit your snakes at all.... you are always taking a risk during brumation and the longer they go, the greater that risk will be.

Also... the brumating of tropical species or any species that isnt used to those temperatures would be... very risky, if not borderline stupid. A BP and similar species... would simply die! I would stick to a more suitable temp range for your ribbon... or for any snake that doesn't experience a harsh temperature change in winter, regardless of what you hear the "experts" doing.(didnt the "experts" tell everyone for years that the fluoride in your toothpaste is totally safe???) No matter what they are doing, it is un-natural and a REAL risk to the snakes.... why chance it, right?

I am just really curious to see why you plan on putting them down for half a year?

[brigitte]

what is a good brumating temp?

[Zephyr]

Well, normally wild snakes around here are in brumation from Late October to November. This includes easterns and butler's. Further north there are parietalis, which I'm sure undergo a much harsher and longer winter. I think that we may actually be cheating our snakes if we keep them in brumation for under 4 months. It's unnatural for most species to experience a four month winter; especially easterns. So I believe that by replicating the natural cycle I'm doing a lot more for my snakes. Of course if I see anything going wrong I'd pull the snake out of brumation gradually, but if not I'd be sure that my stock is 100% healthy and capable of surviving almost anything. I understand that this isn't the wild, but when you make captivity too far from the real thing, it can have detrimental effects on the captives. (For example, iguanas being fed on canned foods as opposed to fresh greens.)

[aSnakeLovinBabe]

brumation for 6 months as opposed to 3 or 4 months is not really comparable to iguanas eating canned food though :confused:

I just think it's a little too extreme, thats all! they are your snakes, you are going to do what you feel is best for them, and that's fine. I just personally feel that 6 months is a little overboard, I highly doubt that 3 and 4 month brumations are detrimental, let alone being anything closely comparable to what happens to poor iguanas :(

[ssssnakeluvr]

if you are gonna keep them down that long, you need to make sure that you monnitor them!! if they start having noticeable weight loss, they need to be brought out soon and get them eating.

[Zephyr]

Okay, I may want to tone things down to 4 months then... My other question then will be on post-brumation preparations. If they are put into brumation in late October, early November, then taken out in early March, I plan to have a pen built in doors, in my basement for them. The temps in basement are in the mid to high sixties. For the month or two that they will be indoors, will these temps suffice for them? I'm not going to use supplemental heating during this time to recreate the conditions they'd be experiencing right out of the dens.

[ssssnakeluvr]

thats a little cool, but will be fine, just have some warm spots they can bask in.

[Zephyr]

I'll probably be using a big, home-built enclosure that can be divided into separate pens for each species using plywood. Ambient lighting will be the primary light source. I can bump the temps up a bit too, but I don't think the garters will be paying much attention to food/basking when the boys have mating on their minds. :P