Losses in Brumation.

[Zephyr]

Brumation is seeming more and more like a double-edged sword... Loren, what do you do if they go off feed?

[Loren]

Brumation is seeming more and more like a double-edged sword... Loren, what do you do if they go off feed?

(Knocking on wood) my garters all eat year round. So my answer is - I dont know.
My general rule is that only animals that will breed, and animals that go off feed, get brumated. So I suppose I might brumate them. Although some of my animals get kept warm year round even if they go off feed. Depends on how well they hold body condition.
I am actually in the process of checking on my brumators as we speak.

[Zephyr]

(Knocking on wood) my garters all eat year round. So my answer is - I dont know.
My general rule is that only animals that will breed, and animals that go off feed, get brumated. So I suppose I might brumate them. Although some of my animals get kept warm year round even if they go off feed. Depends on how well they hold body condition.
I am actually in the process of checking on my brumators as we speak.

... Does outdoor sunlight get into your reptile room?

[Loren]

"... Does outdoor sunlight get into your reptile room?"

No. The windows are cover with insulating panels. the only light on during the day comes from the 4 heat lamps that are on my desert lizards. so it is a dim/medium light throughout the room. My room is kept 72-85 (preferably 75-85) night/day. Some garters have flexwatt as well. Some just have ambient temps. All 8 species/subspecies are still eating, as are my gulf coast ribbons. I feed according to body condition. The growing ones are eating every few days. The plump adults get a meal every 10-14 days maybe.

[Zephyr]

"... Does outdoor sunlight get into your reptile room?"

No. The windows are cover with insulating panels. the only light on during the day comes from the 4 heat lamps that are on my desert lizards. so it is a dim/medium light throughout the room. My room is kept 72-85 (preferably 75-85) night/day. Some garters have flexwatt as well. Some just have ambient temps. All 8 species/subspecies are still eating, as are my gulf coast ribbons. I feed according to body condition. The growing ones are eating every few days. The plump adults get a meal every 10-14 days maybe.

Hmm. Interesting. Makes me think that the main trigger for garter brumation is a change in the photo period.

[Loren]

Possibly/probably a good part of it- along with temps of coarse. Something I might be trying soon with a couple of my snakes is to give them direct flourescent lighting for several hours a day to see if it perks them out of their fasting.

[aSnakeLovinBabe]

My snakes eat year round too... save for the occasional stubborn ball python.... the couple garters I kept up are all still eating great!!

[anji1971]

I don't brumate mine, and they do go off feed for a while, but never a "complete" fast. I can coax them into taking a bit every couple of weeks during October and November, and then by December they (usually) start to pick up on their own. I just wait it out and leave them be.

[Zephyr]

Okay guys... I've got problems... All of my males that I've brought out of brumation are starting to eat. I have an adult female butler's who's decided to stop eating, a smaller wandering who may be doing the same, and a big red-sider female who may or may not be off food but I can't tell since one she's in shed and two she won't eat in front of me.
I'm thinking I should cool the butler's. I need your opinions though. She's still active, but so was my albino checkered when she stopped eating and I tried to wait things out with her... She passed. ):

[adamanteus]

If you're sure they're off food, Kyle, it couldn't hurt to chill them down for a couple of week, if you don't want to go for the full brumation. Sometimes it's enough to stimulate their appetite.