time limit brumation

[PINJOHN]

time limit brumation
all my snakes are in brumation as might be expected, but this is the first time in quite a few years i have done this as for a long time i have just kept them for the love of the snake and not for breeding purposes, i find i am missing them [ the daily routines feeding, cleaning, handling, ] so i wondered what was the shortest period i might keep them under and still expect them to come into breeding condition i feel sure that there will be many people who have experimented with this and i would appreciated your input, or perhaps i am just being impatient and should just wait the recommended time

[PINJOHN]

sorry for placing this thread in the wrong place, not quite sure just how i managed it , my computer skills are atrocious

[guidofatherof5]

my computer skills are atrocious

Forgetaboutit

[ssssnakeluvr]

if you aren't breeding them, they don't need brumation, unless they go off feed and don't eat for 2 weeks. then you can brumate them for a month and bring them out, that usually stimulates their appetites. my juveniles and babies that go off feed are brumated for 3-4 weeks to get them to eat. if they keep eating, I don't brumate them

[ConcinusMan]

Brumate them 'cause they don't eat for two whole weeks? Well jeez... if I brumated every time that happened.. well..

That's nothing for a well fed adult possessing healthy body mass. That's like you and me going 8 hours without a meal.

This thread was about a minimum time to brumate snakes for breeding. Honestly, you just need to be patient. It helps if you have other snakes that aren't brumating, to keep you company and to care for during that time.

None of us like it when our favorite breeders (especially when they are our favorite companion pets too) are brumating. We do miss them terribly. However, you don't do them any good, and you don't do the cause of breeding them any good by being impatient.

As for a minimum time frame, depends on species, temperature, and even varies among individual snakes. If I plan on breeding, I see to it that the temperature for northern species such as my ordinoides or T.s. concinnus and it should remain that way for a minimum of 90 days but that doesn't always work. Any less than that is useless. All all I will get is mild interest for a week or two, but no copulation and no babies, most of the time. 4 or even 5 months works every time.

No set rule here. Just my experience with two species. Im not saying you cant get breeding using different methods, or even without brumating at all. These are living things, and as such, are not always predictable.

[ssssnakeluvr]

the 2 weeks is in the late fall.... not just any time if they don't eat their food for 2 weeks, I give them another week then put them down for a month

[ConcinusMan]

I gave most of the adults reduced daylight hours and cooler temps in preparation for brumating. This triggered a feeding frenzy, which I took advantage of to fatten them up a bit so I fed them lots of fatty fish. OK, so nothing really wrong with that but after a few weeks of that, my biggest girl (and several others) stopped eating. However, before she stopped eating I had decided that perhaps she's pretty old and I should keep her out to keep from missing them too badly. I guess my point is, she went off of food and continued to refuse after I put the rest in brumation. She has excellent body mass so I wasn't too worried.

All I did was increase the temps (around 90 on the warm end) and daylight hours. Took her a while to come around but she did start eating again after refusing for 5 weeks. She seems no worse for wear and is now eating regularly. Seems to me that all this refusing food in the fall that many of us experience is triggered by changes in daylight and/or temperature. I mean, there's some kind of cue there. If you can fix that, they will sometimes start eating again. The amount of time you wait would depend on the snake I suppose. You would have to use your judgement as to how long a particular snake can afford to not be eating, based on weight loss and/or amount of body mass that snake had in the first place. Obviously, some can fast longer than others without getting dangerously thin, and again, increasing temps and daylight hours can reverse their tendency to go off food in the fall. This girl of mine is a huge, thick girl who periodically goes off food for 2 or 3 weeks anyway and so I wouldn't panic and stick her in the fridge for fasting for that short of a period.