Brumating in fridge

[Stefan-A]

Funny thing about studies done in the wild; conclusions can be drawn that don't necessarily apply well to captive snakes.

I agree, but that doesn't mean that they don't apply.

[ConcinusMan]

I agree, but that doesn't mean that they don't apply.

I also meant to imply that they don't apply to all species of garter snakes.

Northwesterns are sometimes seen on the surface close to the den entrances on warm winter days/cold spring days and they seem to function at relatively low temperatures and can even survive brief freezing. Concinnus' staying in the same dens don't come out at all in winter and it takes 4-7 days of warm weather to bring them out in the spring.

All this has got me to thinking and so I found some active USGS ground temperature monitoring stations in my area which monitor varying depths. It will be interesting to see how the data coincides with the snakes' emergence next spring. In the mean time, I have requested by email, data from last winter/spring.

[zooplan]

I also meant to imply that they don't apply to all species of garter snakes.

You´re right. Sadly most studies are about Redsided Garter Snakes only and than generalized to the genus or even to all serpents. About some species of the genus is only known that they are!

It will be interesting to see the results of your research.