Hibernating Questions.

[Glowmonkey]

Hi all, Ive been a member for a while but only got my first snake in January. Im after a bit of info on when and how to hibernate my new snake.

Ive inherited him from a friend, he's a 2yr old Bredli Male, his last shed (1st for me) measured 2m exactly from tip to tail, but I swear he has grown noticeably in the 2mths since that shed. I havent got suitable scales so havent weighed him. he eats fine, I originally fed him juvenille rats every 7-8 days, he poos on average 6-7 days after the feed. The last two feeds have been adult rats and he has passed them both 7days after eating, however i have spaced the feeds to 10-12 days depending on how active he has been. I was warned he was a little bitey and nervy, but exactly the opposite has been the case, he actually happily comes to me when I open his enclosure and loves as much handling as we wish, and has taken a special liking to my partners 6 yr old daughter, I always take him out of the enclosure to feed and let him crawl back in by himself after he has taken the rat, this seems to have stopped him showing any dominate or defensive action (like he did with the previous owner) when Im near or in the cabinet. He has even struck and fed whilst still holding onto my hand and allowed me to place the camera next to him and take pics of him feeding.

I have just moved him into his new enclosure and havent yet finished the heating layout, at the moment I have a 75w heat lamp suspended from one of the logs in the cabinet, it has a suitable heat sheild to stop him coming to harm, and he seems to happily change his position in relation to it as he feels necessary, retreating to his hide log of a night.

My question is how do I hibernate him,
Im in the sunshine coast hinterland, current temp ambient range is 25-15, the lamp maintains about 38-40 within a close range and directly below it, with the shape of the cabinet creating a few different temp areas, he seems to self regulate.

I was told by one friend to just turn the heat off from now until the end of July then gradually increase the time it is on each day from there. My main question is on feeding him, as he is due for a feed now, and is quite active and hunting, even today with the heat off and an ambient temp of about 19. Do i feed him and if I do, should I turn the heat back on until he digests and passes it through, will it harm him if he eats with no heat to aid digestion, or is this the idea for hybernating.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

 

[harley0402]

Snakes brumate not hibernate. You dont have to brumate him unless you are going to breed him. The hot end temp shouldnt be hotter then about 35 ish. Do you use a thermostat ? I personally dont but then i have done heaps of testing and i use low wattage bulbs that only get to a certain temp and im always at home to check if need be. His feeding sounds fine. If you do brumate him, feed him smaller food items and do it when he is able to bask under his heat source. Reduce his heat and light gradually week by week so its like the onset of winter rather then just stopping it all in one hit. I hope this helps

 

[Glowmonkey]

Thanks, I just found another post and read your comments on there about the difference between brumate and hybernate, he's really active, actually he's out and having a good crawl around the room as I type, Im not planning to breed him for now, so I think I'll keep feeding him and just cut his heat lamp down to about 4 hrs a day a couple of days after the feed. Im not using a thermostat at the moment, as the new enclosure has plenty of different heat range areas and basking spots, Ive just been turning the lamp on for about 8 hrs a day and he seems to be happily self regulating, but once the heat cords are wired in, I will be installing a high end thermostat and day night light controller for his UVb fluoro. thanks again for your info here and on the other posts.

 

[harley0402]

no worries mate, all the best