More Brumation ?s.....

[mycolorfulheart]

Raven wasn't eating so I put her in the fridge...she's in a well-ventilated plastic 'carrying case' type box, with a small water bowl and one of her coconuts. I was 99% sure that she hadn't eaten anything in say, a month or more, (I had offered her wet cat food as a last resort, but she didn't appear to eat any of it) but I gave her a warm bath before putting her in the fridge anyway, just to make sure if she had food she'd get it out of her system. Sure enough, the next day she had pooped, so i cleaned out the bottom of the tank and she's been in their now for about a week.

Today I noticed that she had passed another 'jelly bean' and I just want to make sure that that's okay given her present condition...when I check on her she does move a little bit, she's moved in and out of her coconut as well. The fridge is 45-50 degrees fahrenheit (sorry i forget the conversion for all those living outside the US) and the humidity's average I think around 50.

Am I doing the right thing? I was only planning to leave her in there for about a month, just so that she'll start eating again.

[GarterGuy]

Normally you'd want to cool a snake down slowly......I'm not sure what affect that just putting her from room temp. to a fridge. will have. The "jelly bean" may actually be an infertile egg that she's passing. Her lack of appetite may have actually been because she was gravid, not because she was getting ready to brumate. I'd definitely wait to see what others think here, but I'm not sure if that really was the best course of action.

[EdgyExoticReptiles]

she hasent been with a male though right? she was already jelly beaning before you brumated her right?because if she was with a make and u brumated her pregnant and went strait to the friidge it coulda killed some babies

[mycolorfulheart]

no she's never been w/a male. should I take her out? I did try to cool her down via leaving her heat lamp off for about a week before i brumated her, but it was only probly a difference of about 8-10 degrees or so.

[ssssnakeluvr]

if she hasn't been with a male she should be fine....my female western terrestrial hasn't been with a male (by the way, I am looking for one!!!) for 4 or 5 years. she threw a slug last summer....your snake should be fine. if you are just trying to get her to eat, leave her down for a month and bring her out, that should work.

[mycolorfulheart]

One more thing....today when i saw her she was curled up in her water dish in the fridge. I know they do that sometimes in normal conditions but is that healthy at such low temps?

And, when I take her out, should I try to ease up the temps or just put her back in her normal environment? I have a cupboard I can store her in where the temps will be around 70 and she could still have darkness for a few days. Otherwise it's either the tank with the heat lamp, or the tank with no heat lamp.

[Stefan-A]

Originally Posted by mycolorfulheart

One more thing....today when i saw her she was curled up in her water dish in the fridge. I know they do that sometimes in normal conditions but is that healthy at such low temps?

I could be wrong, but I remember reading that they do it in the wild too, if they can, and that it might even significantly improve their chances of surviving the winter.

You can ease the temps up, or just put her back in her normal environment. At least that was I was told a few weeks ago.