Losses in Brumation.

[Zephyr]

Better news! The female red-sided ate! I'm happy. I've got two boys paired up with her right now... Fingers crossed... The butler's and wandering are down here ready for coolage.

[infernalis]

Better news! The female red-sided ate! I'm happy. I've got two boys paired up with her right now... Fingers crossed... The butler's and wandering are down here ready for coolage.

Good news kyle

[anji1971]

That's great Kyle! Good news is much nicer than what's been going on around here lately!

[Zephyr]

Only problem is I've got babies going off feed... Last year I did a mini brumation with my babies and all but one made it through okay. Do you think I should do that again if they don't eat?

[drache]

if it worked last year, why not?

[adamanteus]

Certainly if you think they're starting to lose weight, do it again.

[charles parenteau]

I put aspen bedding litter in the cage with a large water bowl ,big enough for all garter snake ,garter stay active during hibernation,they go in and out in water so the bedding becomes wet ,the humidity increase,moisture begin ...thats not good ,i change the bedding if necessary...
the water too.
In mid april or early may almost all garter I caught are full mud ,the strippes fade because of the mud ,sometime it need a shed to show the real colour.that means they are submerge or partialy submerge...They need hibernaculum with water in the bottom.what is the humidity in there I dont know???I know its stable...

I think that only healty snake should be in hibernation.in nature only the strongest survive ..Hibernation is a test for them.I think if your snake died during hibernation its because he was ill enough to die but not enough for you to notice something wrong.If many snake died its worst,you probably did mistake...I think its better in cool room with constant temperature rather than in the fridge .

[Scott F]

Hi everyone-This is a great topic to discuss. I used to brumate in mini refrigerators (back in the 80's) and had the same problem Don had, high condensation and humidity. Water would accumulate on the bottom of the lid and drip and most of the snakes got blisters. Now I brumate in a room (basement) in the mid 50's to low 60's, w/ minor fluctutations in temps above or below these temps for short periods of time. I house them in their same containers as they are in during the summer, however everything is cleaned just b4 putting down (water bowl, container, new newspaper for a hiding area and substrate is thoroughly cleaned out of all fecal/urine matter). Basically I set them up in a pristine conditions so to minimize the chance of die off. I used to check them monthly, until I had one that flipped a water bowl over and had a severe blister problem. Now I check them every 2 weeks, adding h20 to their water bowls if low, using heavy duty bowls so they can't flip them over. Some still manage to get the substrate wet, in which case I replace the entire cage's substrate. Wet substrate left for long periods of time can induce mold, which can be fatal. I do try and handle the snakes as little as possible when checking them however I have taken pics of them in the winter time, and if using caution, can do this w/ seemingly no ill effects. It's a lot easier to take their pics when brumating as they are much more lethargic, some do lose their colorful luster while hibernating though (infernalis, similis in particular).

All this being said, I have lost a handful every year, this year has been minimal so far (knock on wood). Baby garters seem to be extremely susceptible to die off if brumated in their first year (no clue why this is). If babies go off feed I put them down for 3-4 weeks (adults are down for about 4 months) and bring them back up. This has worked well and minimized neonate attrition immensely.

[drache]

hi Scott
good to see you here
thanks for the great detailed info

[guidofatherof5]

Welcome Scott, Nice to have you with us.