Breeding in September?!?!

[Scott E.]

OK, I walked in on our pair of common garters, Kermit and Miss Piggy, and I think that they were in the middle of breeding! Isn't it late in the season for that? I thought they always bred in the spring usually after brumenating. I checked out a couple of garter snake breeding videos on the web...I felt kinda dirty watching, like I had gotten caught by a neighbor coming out of the back room at the video store, but I digress. Anyway, it looked the same, so I am wondering if I am going to have a brood in the spring? Any thoughts? Thanks!

Scott E.

Looks like I posted before I read BeardedIggy's post on his snakes doing the same "wild thing". Thanks for the input on that thread!

[infernalis]

Yep they can and will copulate in the fall.

You may wish to very seriously consider brumation

[ssssnakeluvr]

My daughter Nikki caught a pair of wanderings breeding a couple years ago in the fall.... I came back from setting up at the expo, Jim has 2 gravid wanderings!!!!!! little late in the season for that!!!!! but we had a weird weather summer here...

[gregmonsta]

Brumation is not an option for a pregnant snake ... she might store the sperm but I would say that you should watch your female closely.

[Garter_Gertie]

I'm not positive on this and may be wrong... But I *think* garters here in MN do store sperm; we've pretty harsh winters. I *think* I read that.

Am I nutz and off in the ozone here?

[Scott E.]

Brumation is not an option for a pregnant snake ... she might store the sperm but I would say that you should watch your female closely.

What should I be watching for? Both the male and female have gone off food. The famale was acutally molting when I found them in "the act". So I was chalking up the lack of interest in food to that. But I have since tried to feed and she seems interested, but won't eat. As for the male, I was reading that they sometimes go off food for a couple of weeks for no apparent reason. He has always been a little more finicky than the female. It has been a couple of weeks since the male fed and about a week for the female. Could they be purging their systems in anticipation of brumation? I would think that it is still a little early for them to brumate. What will happen if they don't brumate? Thanks for the info!

Scott E.

[ssssnakeluvr]

a friend of mine on here Brian Eager, and I work with wanderings....I have found (actually Nikki did) a pair breeding in the late fall....Brian puts his breeding pairs together in the late fall and then brumates the later. he has had real good luck with breeding....we think they store sperm thru the winter and breed again in the spring...kind of a way to make sure the become gravid.