question?

[vwsrcool]

will my garters try to mate in the spring when it warms up even if i dont hibernate them?

[Snaky]

If they are old enough, yes. But it will be a question mark about the 'quality' of the offspring. Sometimes it does not make much of a difference, but other times it does... (As being told)

[Cazador]

Brumation makes successful matings more relaible, but not doing so doesn't preclude a successful mating. It just becomes a gamble whether they will or won't have offspring if you don't brumate them.

Speaking of which, I'm about two weeks away from taking my first pair of T.s. concinnus out of brumation. The female will have been down for three months, and the male will have been down for 2 months. At that time, I'll put my newly acquired pair of T. ordinoides down since I just finished quarantining them and treating them for a nematode infestation. Heh, heh, heh!!!

[ssssnakeluvr]

generally they won't breed without brumation...I have had numbers of wanderings together and nothing happens unless brumated.... I'm nopt saying it's impossible...but unlikely it will happen without brumation.

[abcat1993]

Do all garters brumate/hibernate? Is it still called brumating in the wild?

[Cazador]

Hey Matt,
I hope I'm not over-answering your question, but here goes... Generally speaking, all wild garters brumate at some point for different periods of time. With that said, the books say that snakes in Texas, Florida, and other warm, Southern states may become less active for short periods and could be active at any time throughout the winter, particularly on warm days. I think people sometimes see a snake moving around at cold temperature, albeit slowly, and think that it's not brumating, but this is a normal part of brumation. Captive garters don't have to brumate, but some seem to demand it by refusing to eat and becoming lethargic as the amount of daylight decreases.

Brumation is regulated by temperature and photoperiod. Since high northern and southern latitudes (closer to the north and south poles) experience greater changes in photoperiod than mid-latitudes (closer to the equator), changes in photoperiod has more of an effect on garters at high latitudes than those at mid-latitudes. Temperature is probably the more significant factor though since all bodily processes of ectotherms slow down at lower temperatures. Both factors contribute, though.

Brumation is simply the term applied to reptillian winter lethargy. It's an incomplete form of hibernation (a term generally applied to small mammals during the winter). Reptiles slow down their bodily processes but remain somewhat active during brumation, but ground squirrels, for example, remain completely dormant during hibernation (with the exception of periodic bouts where they bring their body temperature back up to normal for short periods throughout the winter). Hope I gave you the right level of detail.

[abcat1993]

Holy Crap! I was expecting more of a two line max reply but thanks. And I thought that garters buried underground (or at least up north).

[Cazador]

They'll certainly try to get under the freeze line in a crevice, cave, burrow/den, under a house, etc. where it remains warmer, but I've also seen pictures of frozen snakes partially buried in snow and ice on the surface. They don't dig, but they'll push debris around in order to burrow.