Kingsnake Breeding Questions

[stevesemerko]

I am new to kingsnake breeding and I have a couple questions.

1. All my snakes are kept in my bedroom right now and I heat the whole room to the proper temps (except for some which I have heat pads for) I don't have a basement or garage or fridge I can put them in so how would I go about cooling them my kings down without cooling my other snakes down?

2. How big (length and weight) should my kings be before I even attempt breeding?

3. If it is the first time brumating when is the best time to do so? I have talked to some people who told me that they did it in the beginning of December and another told me it didn't matter.

I think that is all for now

Thanks

Steve

[Tim_Cranwill]

Hmmm... a couple questions for you...

- What type(s) of kingsnake(s) are you trying to breed and how big are they?
The breeding size of a Scarlet Kingsnake and a Mexican Black Kingsnake would be different... you get what I mean.

- What is the ambient temperature in your room?
You could stop heating the whole room and just use heat pads for those that aren't being cooled. But you'd need to get your room's temp to like 65F or lower. (Some people don't cool their kings at all.... you could try that too....)

As for the time, I have some of my larger kings already cooling and a few that I am trying for the first time will get their last meal at the end of November. I plan to bring them all back up to regular temps sometime around the middle to end of February. Some people will put them down for 4 months and others for 1.

I hope this helps or at least makes sense. I've been up waaaaay too long.

[stevesemerko]

I have a pair of California Kings that I wnat to breed.
What is the success rate if you don't cool your kings?

[Stockwell]

Cal Kings and other Getulas, will sometimes breed without a full brumation. The chances of getting slugs however is considerably higher.
In your case it will be very difficult to provide a proper brumation cycle. (3 months at 55F)
Just do the best you can, to at least reduce the temps at night. As Cranwill points out, you might consider if you can stop heating the whole room.
Depending on the insulation of your wall, sometimes it is several degrees cooler near the wall, especially under or near a window.
It might be possible to make some type of box with one side open that can be pushed right against the outside wall. The other sides exposed to the bedroom air could be insulated to help reduce the rate at which the room temp heats the box.
I've seen this done in basements, but a bedroom would be much tougher.
Best of luck!