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a question for veteran breeders.

G

grdn1014

New member
i was reading a short 'care sheet' on petplace.com, and here is what it had to say on breeding


Corn snakes reportedly can be bred when they are 1 year old, but it’s better to wait until they are 2 or 3. Successful reproduction often requires a period of cooling or hibernation depending upon the geographic origin. Keeping the vivarium at 50 to 68 degrees for eight to 12 weeks without food is generally sufficient to induce mating behavior upon a return to the normal temperature range.
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http://www.petplace.com/reptiles/choosing-a-corn-snake/page1.aspx#


i just want someone to verify/argue this. its sounds a bit extreme to me.. and i remember hearing only the males usually go without food for mating season, and rarely do females. :shrugs:
 
sounds about right really. they dont eat during hibernation, and its best really to wait until 3 years, although larger 2 year olds do breed.
males under a year have bred too.
 
to me, 50-68 degrees sounds a bit chilly. i duno how i could manage that unless i literaly put some ice next to the tank
 
no not really, i do mine at about 10-12 c, so thats about right 68 f is 20c and 50 is 10c, so anywhere between those is right.
use an outside shed, or a loft hatch... you migth still have to work on the temps a bit, depends on your local climate.
 
I just let the house get cold and heated the one room where I hung out with a space heater last winter. Saved on heating bills too. There's people who brumate using A/C to be able to have babies available other times than spring and summer. Some people don't brumate at all and have good results.
That care sheet is very basic. Sure corns might grow a lot in the first year and be capable of breeding then but the smaller females are susceptible to egg binding and the smaller males can have a low fertility rate, it's more responsible to grow them to up first.
 
It should also be noted that 8-12 weeks brumation (hibernation) isn't necessary. Brumation isn't even necessary for that matter, but brumated animals tend to have higher fertility. I brumated all of my adults at 60-70 F. for 7 weeks.

It may sound extreme, but it all makes perfect sense. The temp cools, so the metabolism slows down, and they don't need to eat. If they do eat during that time, they wouldn't be able to digest the food.

Also, you should begin clearing the gut 2 weeks prior to brumation by discontinuing feeding while at normal temps.
 
I don't brumate at all. I do lower my temps but I get spikes in temp which do not allow me to brumate properly. I take all of my breeders off of feed for 3-4 weeks and then bring them back to normal feed size, turn up the heat and its Barry White and candle light!!! :cool:
 
grdn1014 said:
hearing only the males usually go without food for mating season, and rarely do females.
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Looking at the quote you shared, it states that no food during brumation, not during mating. But yes, the males will generally go off food voluntarily during the breeding season.

grdn1014 said:
to me, 50-68 degrees sounds a bit chilly. i duno how i could manage that unless i literaly put some ice next to the tank
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First off, I've had some years where they slipped down to 45 degrees for a day or two, but I keep them around 50-55 for their 10 weeks of brumation. Somebody correct me if I'm wrong, but I believe that 60 degrees or lower is the magic temperature to 'shut off' the metabolism so they don't use up fat reserves during the brumation process. So, yes, if brumating, it is important to get them down to that temperature.

lefty_mussolini said:
It should also be noted that 8-12 weeks brumation (hibernation) isn't necessary. Brumation isn't even necessary for that matter, but brumated animals tend to have higher fertility. I brumated all of my adults at 60-70 F. for 7 weeks.
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My experiences have indicated that it is pretty important when looking at the fertility in the males as well as how readily the females accept the males on a 'schedule'. As for the 60-70 degree temps, see my information above. :shrugs:

Hope this helps,
D80
 
Drizzt80 said:
My experiences have indicated that it is pretty important when looking at the fertility in the males as well as how readily the females accept the males on a 'schedule'. As for the 60-70 degree temps, see my information above. :shrugs:

Hope this helps,
D80
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D'oh. I meant 50-60 F. That's why we should proof read our posts kids :)

And I agree that brumation is better for fertility and getting all of the snakes on the same schedule. That's why I do it. But I do know many breeders, especially here in Southern California, that have had many succesful years breeding corns without brumation.
 
i only hibernate to save money.... at the end of the day 10 weeks or so for all them adults does turn out to be a good chunk of cash saved.
 
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