So Im wantin to breed My texas rat snake pair. There Both 3.5+ feet. I know I have to seperate them. But do I have to cool them down? Cuz it stays 80 in my room all year round for my arachnids. They live in the same tank(40gal) now but I have a extra 20 gal I can put the female in. Any thoughts are helpful. Thanks Matt.
Snake Breeding ?
- Thread starter MOBugGuy
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- May 1, 2004
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Yes, nearly all North American Colubrids need to have a "cool down" or brumation period in order to breed, and I have never had any luck at all trying to breed snakes that live together in the same tank year-round, with the exception of House Snakes and Beauty Snakes-THOSE things will breed a garden hose if you let 'em, lol! I cool my natives down to around 65 degrees at night, which is actually what my room gets to in winter. They are all brumating right now, with the exception of one juvie Eastern King I just got, who'd been kept at around 80 by his previous owner. Even most Boas and Pythons require a nighttime cool-down period of around 75 or so in order to get them to breed. You've got a bit more flexibility with Colombian Boas and Ball insofar as somewhat warmer cool-down temps, but you also have to limit the amount of light they are exposed to. This works well for me, since the light in my room is off during the day while I'm at work, then I leave it on during winter break while I'm home, and that starts to get the ball rolling, so to speak, with my Boids. My native stuff is still pretty much dormant.
I've seen female wild Black Rats produce small clutches at around 3 1/2 feet, but it really takes a toll on them to produce eggs that young. I prefer to wait until my Rat Snake females are at least four feet to breed them. Males can breed younger and smaller, since they don't have to produce eggs or lay them. Keep in mind that most female Colubrids will not eat for the duration of the time that they are gravid, so the bigger the female is to start with, the better she is able to handle that stress.
pitbulllady