Brumation tips, precautions, or experiences

[jasuncle1972]

Thus past Sat. I bought my garter 4 feeders she ate them 2 days laterand was active tue.12/19, it was warm here.any body have tips on preparing for the arrival of babies in the spring? Lost all but one last year.

[GarterGuy]

Well after all this talk about loosing snakes in brumation, I had to go check my L.m.thayeri and see how they're doing. They look fine.....like the day I put them down. I did take out the carefresh bedding and replaced it with paper towls (thanks Cazador!)....wasn't too worried about the dust from it, but I noticed that they were filling their water bowls with it and making the substrate damp. They're not burrowing in it at all anyways (the two times I've checked on them now, they've been on top of the cork bark in there, just coiled up sitting), so the paper towls will do the trick. So far this is what I've done with them....
1) I let them sit for two weeks with normal temps. (~80'sF) and such, but no food....to get everything out of their systems
2)I turned off the heaters and let them sit at reptile room temp. (75F) for two weeks
3)I then put them in their boxes (just plastic storage boxes with holes punched through them for ventilation) and put the storage boxes in a cardbord box with a few holes in it (this is to keep them dark and keep the cats away from them!)...I sat this in a closet at room temp. (65F) for two weeks
4)From the closet they went into the basement near an outside wall, away from all heat sources (furnace, washer and dryer, ect.) where they've been at around 55F for three weeks now.
In March I plan on going just the opposite way with this to wake them back up.

[Cazador]

Sounds like a good protocol, Roy. It's not necessary, but for about $20, you could buy a digital thermometer with remote sensor and high/low temperature memory. Some also come with humidity sensors, but they're a bit more expensive. I put the remote sensor (without humidity gauge) leaning against the outside of a stack of hibernacula, and I put the receiver, which also reads the temperature at its location, in a terrarium on my desk at home. Then I can easily see the temp in the terrarium in front of me and at the hibernacula in the other room.

The other thing I like to do is to weigh (and measure) the snakes before putting them down for brumation. If I get concerned about any snake, I can re-weigh them and get a more accurate index of how they're doing. The measuring bit is just for my records. It doesn't help with brumation.

Jasuncle,
Brumation isn't critical, but it sure increases the likelihood of getting your snake pregnant. If you've recently fed her, don't put her back into a cold area right away. Let her digest her food and pass her waste.

You can boost your odds of your female delivering healthy offspring by giving her plenty of privacy/hiding spots, and feeding her small but frequent meals. I'm also an advocate of giving multivitamins including, but not limited to, calcium powder and folic acid. I'm sure the parturition discussions will intensify as spring approaches.
Rick

[Sid]

Well, this is my first time to burmate. What I've done to this point:
1. As mine went off food, started a cool down and allowed 3 weeks for clean out of disgestive system.
2. Relocated to basement in a community enclosure (by sex), where it remains between 50 to 55 degrees F.
3. Keep check on water and replace with clean weekly ro as needed.

Sid

[ssssnakeluvr]

Separating sex isn't necessary...I put breeding pairs together. Have a friend here in Utah that has had wandering garters breeding in brumation.

[Cazador]

Hey Sid,
The only thing I'd add is that you want it to remain pretty dark throughout their brumation cycle. You can drape a dark cloth over the hibernaculum or even add a loose plastic bag to the outside, but just make sure not to cut off the O2/CO2 flow.
Rick

[Sid]

Hey Sid,
The only thing I'd add is that you want it to remain pretty dark throughout their brumation cycle. You can drape a dark cloth over the hibernaculum or even add a loose plastic bag to the outside, but just make sure not to cut off the O2/CO2 flow.
Rick

Thanks, it is normally dark in the basement. However, if the weather does get unseasonably warm all my vent open automaticly which does let a limited amout of light in. I will add the dark cloth.

Thanks again,
Sid

[garterking]

You'll probably get a lot of different opinions on that one, Roy. I change the water and wash their water bowls every 10 days to 2 weeks, but I haven't heard of any "rule." This always involves a little bit of handling, but I try to make it as quick as possible. I just don't want bacteria to build up in their water dishes. As far as the Carefresh, I steer clear of particularly dusty bedding material that could enter their lung(s). I probably error on the side of being over cautious, but I tried using bark bedding and am even considering going back to paper towels. I wouldn't even consider bark near birth. The bark looks much better and makes it easier to clean up feces/urates, but it makes the snakes dusty and dulls their coloration... not to mention the potential effect on their lung(s). These are just my personal preferences, though.
Rick

Well, this is my first time putting any of my snakes into brumation. My other 2 are fine and eating regularly, but after reading this I'm a little nervous. My male (in hibernation) is in my laundry room, on a cement floor, next to an outside wall. The thermometer stays at 56 or 57 without much movement. I put a box over the aquarium so it stays dark, but leave half the top flap open to allow for ventilation. No condensation on the glass, so I think I'm good. I'm using the forest floor bedding (100% natural cypress mulch), but he just stays curled up in a ball under his hide but on top of the substrate.
I don't want to bother him too much and other than to change the water and make sure he's still breathing, I don't handle him at all. I'm not so sure he even moves out of his hide at all. If he's not burrowing under the mulch, should I replace it with paper towels? I thought I was trying to make him as comfy as possible, but now I'm not so sure. I don't want to keep bothering if I don't have to. I know what I'm like when I want to sleep and someone bothers me. LOL
Another question. Just of interest. Do they accually sleep in brumation, or are they just sedated and mellow.
Thanks everyone. This site is great for getting the info you need and to make our lives much easier.

Mike

[Cazador]

Hey Mike,
A lot of people brumate their snakes on mulch and have excellent results. I just prefer paper towels because they're easy to check for moisture and the occasional urate. They're also clean and easy to use. Wood has a lot of pores where bacteria and fungi are able to hide, so that's another reason I choose to avoid them.

Snakes aren't quite always sleeping during brumation, it's more like they're very lethargic and "drowsy." All of their bodily processes slow down, including their immune system and sensory perception, but they still move around. You want to give your snakes a lot of peace and quiet, but don't be afraid to check on them once in a while. A moment of handling every few weeks is trivial compared to the potential dangers of having a damp cage or a sick snake during brumation. Checking on them is also important to ensure they aren't suffering excessive weight loss. It's also a good time to clean their water bowl and give them fresh, cool water. Luckily, parasites are ectothermic as well and slow down their activity levels at lower temperatures.

[CrazyHedgehog]

I think I am going to have to invest in a regulator, here in the uk, any sheds or basements go well below zero! so too cold, and then inside their is just too much central hearting!