Help needed with brumation

[RedSidedSPR]

When should i start? (hes a Red Sided garter snake)

Is it nessecary? (im not breeding)

if possible can you talk me through the process?

And.. HOW CAN I MAKE IT COLD ENOUGH??? We have no basement/attic, no spare refrigerator, the house is somewhat drafty but not enough so to help.
The house will 65-68F.

[Stefan-A]

It's not necessary. I decided to only brumate my snakes, if they stop eating or if I want to breed them.

You can start any time you want. The most important thing is to wait at least two weeks from the last feeding, before you start lowering the temperature. Their digestive system's functionality is directly dependent on the temperature and if they still have undigested material in their guts, it'll rot and you may well end up with a dead snake.

After that, you can either lower the temperature gradually over several days or weeks, or you can move them directly to brumation temperatures. The jury's still out regarding which method is better, or if either method has any risks.

Keep them at stable and low enough temperature for the amount of time you want to brumate them. The proper temperature depends on the species, but red-sided garters are the most cold-tolerant. They should always have water and the bowl should be big enough for the snake to soak in, if it needs to. Dehydration is a killer.

Draft kills.

Don't bother the snake more than is absolutely necessary.

To bring it out of brumation, repeat the steps in reverse order. It may take a few weeks before it starts eating again.

But like I said, it's not necessary to brumate the snake, unless it starts preparing for it itself or if you want it to breed (Note: Skipping brumation is not a contraceptive).

[mb90078]

Sounds like it would be a big hassle for you to do it, and it's not fully necessary, especially if not breeding. I would just skip it if I were in your shoes.

[RedSidedSPR]

Thanks for the answers. Will one minnow last him all that time if he decides to brumate?
That's all he ate last week.

[guidofatherof5]

It's not the food he has in his stomach. His gut should be empty when he enters brumation. They live off their fat stores during brumation.
Their metabolisms slow way down during brumation and they require far less nutrition.

[ConcinusMan]

It's not the food he has in his stomach. His gut should be empty when he enters brumation. They live off their fat stores during brumation.
Their metabolisms slow way down during brumation and they require far less nutrition.

Far less calories anyway.

I usually feed them plenty of fish for their last month or two before brumation. I think the fat found in salmon and silversides helps get them through. They aren't like us, they don't produce body heat which burns calories. During brumation, heart rate and breathing slows considerably, and so, they burn very few calories. Don't place them in brumation unless they've not eaten for 2-3 weeks. This helps clear out any fecal matter. It's difficult for them to expell that stuff once they are cold, and if they don't do that before brumating, you could end up with impacted colon or the food in their guts will simply rot. Ensure that nothing but urates are coming out before you brumate. They should have decent body mass too because they will lose some weight. Attempting to brumate them at temperatures higher than 55 F will cause them to lose too much weight, too fast, because they'll still be quite active. If you don't have any place cold enough, then skip brumation. Reduced daylight hours and temperature can be done instead, but they'll still need fed once in a while.

[RedSidedSPR]

Ok thanks.

[HazAnga]

you could probably easily just turn your lighting and heat sources off and throw a blanket or something over the tank to make it dark for a few weeks then take the blanket off and slowly apply your heat again. that sometimes and be an easy enough brumate and then that will kind of jump start them so they will eat and everything for you. as long you you have no intentions of breeding them. (mind you my male bred with my two females and I don't believe the females were brumated and I know my male wasn't. And they bred)

[RedSidedSPR]

Thanks, Ill try the blanket thing. Sorry I kinda posted this thread twice, but I wasnt sure what to do since he stopped eating.

[RedSidedSPR]

HOW MUCH LONGER? It's been 2 weeks since I covered him (suggested by HazAnga) Is that long enough?