Breeding without Brumation?

[gargoyle]

Just wondering if anyone has done this and what the results were. I've read all the care sheets that say it is necessary but I can remember reading threads on other sites that people say they have done this with success. The species in particluar is Cali kings (didn't want to brumate mine this year, male went off feed for a couple months earlier in the season, hes recovered fine now but didn't want to chance it a couple months ago). I'd just hate to let another year go by without seeing what the babies from these two would look like!

[gonesnakee]

Go for it! I know people who never brumate there snakes & they breed quite successfully for them. Also just about every year people contact me about what to do with the eggs after their "community" corns laid them. Colubrids such as Corns & Kings seem to do their thing whether brumated or not. Not always successfully, but that may have been the case whether brumated or not in some instances. Good Luck Mark

[gargoyle]

Now being that I haven't bred kings before, I've bred alot of other herps, just not kings.. what is the likelyhood of combat or canabilism with these guys, someone told me a while ago that it could be quite high risk, but I don't hear of it much anymore?

[Stockwell]

Dana, there is a good chance of getting eggs without brumation, but even short brumation periods of a few weeks can be helpful. You still have time, if you have a suitable place. They are from California after all.. A few weeks even in the 60's will likely help your odds for viable sperm.
Cal kings will rarely eat each other. It's a concern but they shouldn't be left together unobserved. When the female is ripe, she will take a mate within minutes. If she isn't yet ready there will be a load of tail flipping.
Without any brumation it is extremely hard to tell when or even if they will be ovulating.
If you cool them, its generally 4 to 6 weeks after warm up, after the first, sometimes second shed.
You'll just have to sample them every week, and observe them. If there is no copulation in an hour, it's not time. Separate them and try again the next week.
By the way, those baby rosies you just got were produced without standard brumation as well.
Snakes from California, florida and southward, required less extreme brumation than more northern species.
But along with increasing the likelyhood of viable matings don't forget the other nice by-product of brumation... and that is 3 months with no food expense. This also helps colubrids from becoming obese which is a huge problem with specimens fed 12 months of the year.

[Invictus]

Last season I bred corns without brumation, but my cal kings were brumated. My corn snake female double clutched on her first ever breeding for a total of 18 living babies and 6 slugs.