Litter of Tiny Red Sided

[mb90078]

Good question, and I really can't answer it with "yes" or "no". I did not but them in a fridge or other particularly cold place, and they spent the entire winter in their normal tank (which has ample space to burrow). However, the temperature in our house can get quite cool in the winter. I kept the heating pad on for part of the day, but always after a meal. Gradually, their appetite faded for a few weeks in the winter, and so I slowly minimized the amount of time that I left the heating pad on per day. I only left it completely off for a day or two. I slowly increased the number of hours with the heating pad on, and tested their appetite again. After they ate, I again made sure they had ample heat to digest. From there on out, they maintained their appetite.

So I never intentionally brumated them, but as their appetite faded, I allowed their temperature to drop a little. I also observed that one would utilize the hot side of the tank and the other the cool for much of the winter. I pretty much left it up to them, but the temperature never got anywhere near as cold as I imagine most people who intentionally burmate does.

Again, this is my first time, so I don't have enough experience to encourage others to follow this plan, but I would say it certainly worked well for me.

[Dan72]

When you feed the earthworms do you chop them up for smaller bites or did the babies eat them as you found them in the yard? I don't know that I'll get lucky enough to worry about these things with the gravid female I have here, but hoping so and trying to get a game plan in place. Also I know that in the early days after birth them not having enough water is a real concern. In the housing they're in right now do you have damp paper towels, a damp moss, how are you addressing this? Thanks.

[mb90078]

I was able to find earthworms that were very small (even smaller than the already very small babies). For whatever reason, when i have dug for worms in the past, I almost always find 90% very small ones 5% small ones and 5% average sized ones. I almost never find any that approach the size that you purchase at a bait store or Wal-Mart. Although slightly disappointing to find those results when feeding larger snakes, or even sub-adults, it really was convenient for feeding the babies. (As a side note, the adult snakes still do like the tiny worms, but they'd like about a hundred of them, which would require me to rent a back-hoe ).

I put them on damp paper towels, maybe slightly damper than I should have, but I put dry half paper towel rolls in on top, and regularly changed them if they became damp. I also gave them water to drink in the lid of an "I can't believe it's not butter" tub (the lid, not the tub itself).

[kibakiba]

I find a lot of the giant ones in my garden under the flower bed rocks, anywhere else, I tend to find tiny ones. The big guys probably hide more because they know that they're a lovely meal!

[mb90078]

I tried the cut up larger worm method with the babies, and while I suppose it worked, I think I'll go back to digging and collecting the small ones.

[ConcinusMan]

Just 5 albinos?

[mb90078]

That's all. The odds weren't on my side this time.