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Brumation Technics for North American Agkistrodon
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by ALA_snake33 on October 4, 2006
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If everyone that has Bred or are Breeding North American Agkistrodon’s will, I would like to know what your technics are in preparing you Snakes for their Cycling / Brumating Time, and what you do to Prepare them for Breeding?
What I am interested in is:
#1 How often do you Feed your Snake before Cooling Time?
#2 Do you Change the Lighting Times and Brightness before Brumation?
#3 How long you wait before dropping the Temp to Full Hibernation Level?
#4What type of Inclosures you use for Brumation Time?
#5 How long you wait before taking them out of Brumation?
#6 Do you bother with a Gradual Temp Rise when you get ready to bring them out?
#7 Which Sex do you bring up First?
#8 How long do you wait before Introducing A Mating Pair?
I know a lot of you are probably wondering why I ask this question, well, I know a lot of Breeders, and most of these Breeders have a lot of Deferent Technics for Preparing their Snakes for Hibernation/Brumation. So, I am just interested to see how many Deferent Technics there actually are. If anyone has any Unusual Technics, please don’t hesitate to share them.
Be Safe Ya’ll, Happy Herping : Wally
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RE: Brumation Technics for North American Agkistro
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by Rob_Carmichael on October 4, 2006
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You are right, there are many different ways to achieve success. Hopefully, Tim Cole will chime in wiht his technique as I feel he has developed an excellent system for cooling temperate species. But, here's our fairly simple methods:
What I am interested in is:
#1 How often do you Feed your Snake before Cooling Time? I like to fast my snakes for at least 3-4 weeks keeping them at optimal temps during that time. I want to make sure their gut contents are completely empty before entering into a cooling season.
#2 Do you Change the Lighting Times and Brightness before Brumation? I keep my animals in rooms with indirect natural light and that allows the animals to cue into natural photo periods. But, you can achieve success by putting room lights on timers if there are no windows. During the cooling period, I pull all of the shades down so that the lightly is greatly subdued.
#3 How long you wait before dropping the Temp to Full Hibernation Level? Some folks do it rapidly but I like to gradually cool them down to "full levels" at around week 3.
#4What type of Inclosures you use for Brumation Time? It depends on what is being cooled. Many of my rattlers live in racks so I will just unplug the heat tapes and let them cool down naturally. The room gets down to around 50-55 deg F which works out well for me. Other animals are kept in visions, neodeshas, etc.
#5 How long you wait before taking them out of Brumation? Once again, it depends on the species but for most N.A. species, I cool them down from mid to late November to late February or early March give or take a month depending on seasonal weather fluctuations. For some species, I will even put the heat tapes on a timer so that they are on for an hour or two during the day during brumation that mimics natural conditions.
#6 Do you bother with a Gradual Temp Rise when you get ready to bring them out? Even though I gradually cool the animals down, when I bring them out, I just plug the heat tapes in at optimal levels and the room gradually warms to normal ambient temps over the course of a week.
#7 Which Sex do you bring up First? They both come up at the same time....the sooner I can get them feeding, the sooner I can get them breeding (although some will refuse food until they have had a chance to mate)
#8 How long do you wait before Introducing A Mating Pair? Typically, I wait for that first shed but I also cue into subtle behaviors that may tell me that they are ready before that time. Ideally, I try to get a few meals in them, get their first shed and then its time to have some fun.
Hope that helps a bit,
Rob Carmichael, Curator
The Wildlife Discovery Center
Lake Forest, IL
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RE: Brumation Technics for North American Agkistro
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by ALA_snake33 on October 5, 2006
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Here is my personal Technic, that has worked Great for me over the Years.
Here we go:
#1 I cut off my Feeding around 3 Weeks before Cooling. This to me is plenty of time for my Snakes to empty their Bawls.
#2 I have never used a Photo Period, with any of my Agkistrodon’s, or my Colubrids. They seem to do just as well without it.
#3 I drop to room Temperature 1 Week before Dropping to full Brumation.
#4 Up till 5 Years ago, I used Plastic Shoe Boxes for Hibernation Chambers and staked them in a closet, but now I use Old Refrigerators and stake my Shoe Boxes up inside. I use a Thermostat to control the Temp inside “it works like a charm.”
#5 My average time for Hibernation is 3 Months.
#6 I bring my Snakes out, over a 1 Week time span. This allows them to adapt well to the change.
#7 I always bring my Females up about 2 Weeks before my Males. This allows the Girls to put on a little more Wait before having to carry Babies.
#8 I normally allow my Snakes to get in at least 2 Feedings, but with my Females I like to allow them 3-4 Feeding before Breeding. This is my reason for bringing the Girls out First. Normally, my Males will let me know when the time is right. They begin to get a little antsy and do circles in their Cages. They Smell the Females and can’t wait to find them “LOL”. I guess you could call it Love at First Smell “LOL”.
Well, these are my Technics “Tried and True”
PS: Rob: I would love to hear any new Technics that have been found and I hope the Man you mentioned “Tim Cole” will way in. Thanks for answering my Post.
Be Safe Ya’ll, Happy Herping : Wally
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RE: Brumation Technics for North American Agkistro
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by Chris_Harper on October 7, 2006
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Old refrigerator? How do you keep them from suffocating? Is the refrigerator ventilated?
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RE: Brumation Technics for North American Agkistro
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by ALA_snake33 on October 12, 2006
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Chris: I use one of those little Fans, you know the ones like you would use on the Beach when you get hot. Only thing is, the Fan is not Battery Powered, I plug it up, then insert it backwards into a tub. I drill small holes on one side “maybe 6-8 “ then drill one larger hole on the other side. By doing this and attaching the tub to the side with only one hole, I get the Perfect Amount of Air Flow.
Don’t ask me how I come up with this idea, but it just hit me one day “Hibernation Chamber “LOL”. Thing is, I was trying to come up with a method that would be easy and that would have Fully Automatic Temperature Control. I would recommend anyone to try this method, it works very well.
Be Safe Ya’ll, Happy Herping : Wally
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