Question

[Stefan-A]

I really don't know, but if I remember correctly, parietalis can spend as much as 8 months in hibernation, but on the other hand, you can stimulate them into mating by lowering the temperature for as little as a day. I don't know if it works with other species and subspecies.

My guess would be that you can't apply one set of rules to all species and subspecies. Somewhere, their ability to withstand longer and colder hibernation periods has to become the factor that limits a species' distribution. I could also imagine that the newborns of the northernmost populations would enter it earlier and at a smaller size.

But like I said, I don't know. This is just an exercise in imagination.

[Snaky]

There are some species you can put in the fridge and hibernate at 4-6°C, but I don't think you can do this for all species/subspecies. Even within subspecies there might be a problem. Some have such a wide range that they can be in very cold or warm areas. I think the one snake from a warm area will have it difficult when you drop the temperature to the hibernation temperature of the snake from the cold area. But this is also just a thought, don't know any hard facts on it.

You can lower the temperature by using a dimmer/ using lower Wattage spots/ lowering your room temperature / gradually decreasing your light period/ moving them to a different room which is a little colder...

[drache]

I would assume that normal winter weather conditions in the area of a species/sub distribution are a good guideline for tolerable temps