Brumation

There is conflicting advice regarding if brumation is beneficial for your reptiles. If you do not know already about brumation and what it means, please have a look at the next section of this post.

Brumation - What is it?

Brumation is the process of which reptiles undergo during the winter months in the natural environment. It involves the reptile becoming more slow with their movements in order to conserve energy to survive. Reptiles, being cold blooded, require heat in order to be active, so if there is very little heat, they won't move about as much. Furthermore, they will go off their food in order to clear out their stomachs for the brumation period. This is logical as you do not want rotting food in their digestive system. 

If brumating, you will want to gradually drop the temperature over around a month. Do NOT suddenly drop the temperatures as this can kill your animal. Please refer to the temperature section of this post to find out about what temperature should be at the end of this month. Same rule after brumation- gradually raise the temperature back up to what it normally is over the course of one month or so.

After the brumation period, reptiles such as royal pythons tend to go back on their food (quite heavily) before searching for a mate. Following mating, the female will form and lay the eggs which uses the animal's fat reserves. This is why they feed heavily after brumation. In captivity, some breeders lower the temperatures for their breeding reptiles in order to trigger the brumation response. The belief is that by brumating the reptiles, they will lay more eggs and are more fertile compared to the reptiles that breed and do not undergo brumation, although this is disputed by other breeders who do not brumate their reptiles and produce fertile, healthy animals. 

Reptiles can undergo brumation by themselves, even if the temperature is not low enough in their enclosure. The most common signals are refusing feed and sleeping more/slowing down (becoming more lethargic). They also may spend more time on the cool end of the enclosure.

Brumation Temperature

The ambient temperature for brumation to be successful is generally around the 40-50 degrees Fahrenheit mark (4-10 degrees Celsius).   When I first found this out, I was shocked that it was so low but don't forget- in the wild, reptiles would borrow underground to seek this heat as the ambients above ground may be in the minuses. 

Pros of Brumating

It is commonly recognised that brumation increases the probability of fertility in breeding, although further scientific evidence is required to ultimately prove this theory.

By brumating your reptile, you are replicating their natural environment.

Brumation also helps by giving the reptile's digestive system a break. 

It may contribute to fighting obesity in reptiles.

Cons of Brumating

If temperatures are not kept accurate, aka they fall too low, your reptile(s) may suffer health problems and even worse- die.

It may cause respiratory illness (RI) due to low ambient temperatures. This can lead to painful treatment and high vet bills.

Conclusion

I can see the benefits of brumation, however, I would not personally brumate my reptiles unless they undergo it naturally themselves. If you are keeping your reptiles as pets only and don't plan on breeding, my advice would be to refrain from brumating as it is not necessary. If you are breeding them and want a better success rate, I would suggest brumation but do more research on the process of brumating your particular reptile. 

Keeping Reptiles Warm In Winter - Ambient Temperatures

If you are worried about what the winter may bring for your reptiles regarding ambient temperatures, this post is for you.

Let me start by saying everyone is different when it comes to what they consider as 'acceptable ambient temperature' but I would say that it is generally practiced that around 70 Fahrenheit (20 Celsius) is the minimum that you should keep the ambient temperatures, assuming you're not brumating your reptiles. Ensure that your hot spot is what it should be and there is a clear temperature gradient throughout your reptiles' enclosures.

For more information on the various types of heating, please refer to my heating reptiles post.

During a power cut, it is very helpful to have a backup heat source. Some people have generators that they can use in case of a power cut but others do not have the privileges for a generator (I being one of them). Instead, I stock up on heat packs. These are packs that come in a variety of sizes which when opened, begin to heat up. They take a while to heat but they last some 12 hours or so. Usually, these heat packs are used when transporting reptiles. Please note, I use these as my reptiles are not huge. If you have a large reptile such as a burmese python, you will most likely need a generator if your electric cuts out for a long period of time. Alternatively, you can keep your reptiles warm for a short period of time by using your body heat. Place your reptile in a pillow case and hold them close to your body. The pillow case will allow air flow and will keep them from exploring around your room.

Remember to keep checking your animals throughout the cold snap to ensure they are eating, drinking, shedding, excreting and behaving as normal. I tend to handle my reptiles less during the winter as the ambients are not as high as what they are during the summer months.

My New Addition Mauve

Recently I was contacted by a local breeder who had a ball python that was unable to breed. There is also a small bump on the python's nose. The breeder explained that the royal needs a good loving and caring home, so my partner and I decided to take him on and keep him as a pet to ensure that he will be well cared for. We have named the python Mauve as he is a Mojave and it fits with our name by colour scheme theme although I know he is not purple.

He is currently the largest ball python weighing in at 950 grams (approximately). Mauve seems to be settling in well and adjusting to his new environment. He seems to enjoy being handled and is continuously attempting a breakout from his enclosure.

I must admit, it feels rewarding to take in and care for an animal that is healthy but no one else may want due to it having slight problems with looks and or breeding. I hate the fact that some people would go as far as to euthanize such animals and that breaks my heart when they can have a good home and be loved.  

This is Mauve, the special little guy.

Mojave ball python.