Should you cool even if you are not ready to breed?

I just got my BP's this year and won't be ready to breed for probably two years, as they are all 08's. I was wondering should I be cooling my snakes as if they were going to breed? I assume in the wild there would be some type of cool down period. And I know from when I had Tegus that it was advised that you let them hibernate in the winter so that they did not mature to quickly. Also does power feeding snakes cause them to grow faster then there sexual maturity? I know with Tegus they say that growing to fast causes their sexual organs to stretch rather then grow in at an appropriate rate.

Before I started breeding I never lowered my temps, my temps were constant 24/7 year round!

And I didn't even cool when I bred and don't plan to this year either.

ive never bred before so i am clueless to it but i see some cool and some dont. my question is that isnt it better for the snake to have the cool down process to have a better or higher quanity clutch?. ive read that you should allow your snake to hibernate/cool for a few months to have better chances of them having a greater clutch.

Ball pythons don't brumate (hibernate). Remember too that they are found in areas close to the equator which has minimal temp fluctuations.

Does no cooling mean leave the heat pads on?? I was listening to a previous reptile radio show today and they said heat could lead to slugs... I am now contemplating turning down/off my heat pads.

Well I have one clutch about to hatch any day now. I never changed the temps even when I was breeding. Not much experience but hope it helps.

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Originally Posted by JoshJP7

Does no cooling mean leave the heat pads on?? I was listening to a previous reptile radio show today and they said heat could lead to slugs... I am now contemplating turning down/off my heat pads.

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I didn't change anything, heat stayed the same, my females thermoregulated. I did have two slugs in one clutch. Whether the heat had anything to do with it, I can't say, but another female with the exact same temps had no slugs.

If you don't have any other heat source, I would not suggest turning your heat pads off.

Depending on your general temperatures in your room, you CAN turn everything off, given that the animals don't dip below 75 degrees for an extended period of time (My own arbitrary number that I feel is unhealthy and can lead to issues)

Lower your heat source down to 85-80, but don't turn it off.

These animals need to be able to thermoregulate, and without a heat source, they may not be able to digest, stay healthy, etc etc etc.


And to answer the questions, I have cooled and I have not cooled, and have not found significant differences in my seasons.

I have an oil based heater that keeps the room temp @80 so that is the ambient temp of the tanks... I dropped my temps to 87 but have an issue... the thermostat controls 4 cages... 1 has a boa, the other two have females that I plan on breeding this year... If I drop it down to 85 will I pee off my boa or the other girls??