Brumation and Ontario time of year

[marisa]

I would like to ask anyone who has bred cornsnakes in Ontario to see if they have any answers to my questions :)

Since the snakes can tell whats going on by the lighting cycles and what not, what time of year (with natural lighting coming from window or what not) do you pair your corns up here? I see some people in other areas of North America doing it ealier, or a bit later but has anyone found an optimal time or no?

Another question: I am not brumating my snakes. I really really wanted to but as it stands any area I have to do this in is too risky because of temp fluctuations and what not. On the advice from Rich Z's forum I am going to try anyways. They said I should still have a fairly high chance of a sucsessful mate and hatch. What do you guys think? And do you have any suggestions for me in regards to catching them in "the mood"

thanks for reading-
Marisa

[Simon]

I'll try to answer all your questions but please keep in mind that these are just what I do personally...not a rule. Just a little guild

Question 1: what time of year (with natural lighting coming from window or what not) do you pair your corns up here?

Answer 1: Well usually I start paring my corns up around March.
There is not really an optimal time. Males usually want to breed when you try to beef them up a bit more during this time and forget about feeding...hahah

My Tips (personal experience): I start putting my snakes in burmation around Dec and warm them back up around Feb. Then one month of crazy feeding and then in around March I put the males in with the female. Or the other way around if the male is too shy.

Question 2: They said I should still have a fairly high chance of a sucsessful mate and hatch. What do you guys think?

Answer 2: This is true. You don't HAVE to put them for burmation before breeding. It's just that after burmation makes fertility rate a bit higher. Also it's a time for breeders to relax a bit more...less work and less mouths to feed...hahahah

Question 3: And do you have any suggestions for me in regards to catching them in "the mood"

Answer 3: For males...just pop them in with the female. Most of them will be in the mood already...as I have stated in the answer 1. Females, some would start to lock up right away....some would wait until like a few days later....so this really depends on the female's mood.

Hope this helped....if you have any order question(s) just shot it and I'll try and help you if I know how...lol

Good Luck and Happy Herping!

[marisa]

It was suggested to me sometime before that a good idea would be to just use her shed as a guide (since I won't have a post brumation shed to look for) and during the months of say March-May place the pair together for a few days after each of her sheds in hopes I catch her in time. Is this a viable suggestion?

And your reply helped a lot!

marisa

[Simon]

Well.....I don't really think that the shedding suggestion is really accurate for a snake that didn't go into burmation. But it might work. Who knows and who am I to say that it's not a good guide? But what I would really really look for is the snake ovulation. If your snake starts to swell then you should try and put the two together as soon as possible. Cause if you miss the ovulation period just because you were looking into March's first shed it might be too late if she started to ovulate in late Feb. So keep a close eye on her if you were really to go with the tip of first shed in March. Of course some snakes have 2 ovulation in one year. So you might be able to catch it's 2nd ovulation.

I would suggest you to just pop in the male once a week or two after both have digested it's meal for a day or two in mid Feb or when you think that the female is ready to breed. Then take the male back out and retry in a week or two later. That way you are sure that you will not miss the 'chance'

Hope this is understandable.....cause I think that the sentence was WAY too long for proper english...lol

[marisa]

No I got what you are saying. :) Thanks for the info. I will be crossing my fingers for plenty of Snow in the summer!

Marisa

[Simon]

Good Luck!! Hope that you'll get some snows soon. I might even be interested in getting a few from you~~

Let us know what happens~~

[HoLotaGutatta]

Simon,
On how many breeding seasons or total clutches of eggs are you basing this on??
Is this the same Simon from London who posted a few times last year of his corns NOT breeding or laying eggs for him? Correct me if I am wrong.
While I myself have never bred cornsnakes, I do have the humility to admit that. I am going to try breeding one of my pairs this year for the first time. I have spent the last few months reading, reading, and re-reading The Corn Snake Manual and researching care sheets from reliable sources. One of my worst fears right now is the worst case scenario, a snake dying because of an error I made, or information I am relying on not being accurate.
Sorry to single anybody out, but I worry about harm to the animals if someone is misinformed. I have been lurking on sssnakess for a few months now, and noticed information that doesn't always add up. So, today I registered, because I would hate to see someone lose an animal because of misinformation.
Natasha Blaind

[Simon]

Natasha Blaind,

Yes I am the same Simon that posted a last month about ONE of my female not being able to lay any eggs or do any breeding. I had other snakes that went with the breeding and stuff. I had creamsicles, charcoals and other snakes breeding for me. So I had eggs before. It was just that one that didn't breed. So I posted to ask if there was anyone who knows of a way of what I can do to make her breed. I have tried all of my methods and didn't seem to work...so I wanted some more information.

I have also had helped at Kathy's place so I had more experience than just my own breeding and 'fun'

[Dom]

You make a very good points Natasha, although I think Simon in this case made it very clear this was but an opinion and nothing more but his own experience..


Originally posted by Simon
I'll try to answer all your questions but please keep in mind that these are just what I do personally...not a rule. Just a little guild


The information on this website is very selective .. or Im selective on my reading lol .. u have to know what is right or wrong in order to know what is good reading or not .. I personally always say that this is "my own experience or oppinion" and if you choose to take my advise that is your risk or advantage..

Great posts everybody - very informative ..

[HoLotaGutatta]

How many seasons have you been breeding? How many clutches have you successfully hatched? Just wondering, because in the way your posts are worded, one would assume you have done this awhile.....or maybe I'm misinterpreting your posts, sorry....
Natasha Blaind

[Simon]

Natasha,

Well I have been breeding for more than 10 years.
The first two years were not that good....I didn't read up too much and basically I was a bit too careless.

Now it has been....um....around 8 years or so with good hatching rates. I do not remember how many clutches I have had....but I am sure that I had more than 20 clutches...lol....

This year I am expecting to get around 26 clutches and 1 clutch of live birth (this is my frist year getting live birth babies...lol....really excited about this...)

Anyway, really all these were just my opinion and yes....maybe I have stated things in a wrong way and made it hard for you or anyone else to understand.....but o well....can't help it...my english sucks...lol

[marisa]

Offense to anyone at all but this thread has turned into crazyness and everything past Simons original post has nothing to do with my question. In fact I see nothing wrong with the advice given as I am not a newcomer to snakes and I am sure Simon was aware that I had snakes before answering my question without the nessecary newbie treatment. I am by no means an expert but I do take peoples advice just the way Dom said, I know whats right and wrong and I take from that and hope to get opinions from others.

Just thought it was ridiculous this was turning into a match of how much Simon has bred. Frankly I don't care, if he knows something about brumation times here and whats best, I'd love to hear it from him or anyone else. I can judge things for myself.

Marisa