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

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Originally Posted by RuGGeR

Hmmm.....Wondering what the signs are......??? Can you be kind enough to explain....

Thanx in advance....

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Signs include good eaters suddenly going off food, females spending alot of time on the cool side and possibly even soaking in their water bowl, also shedding every 30 days can be a sign that they are starting to cycle. These are not definates but they become more obvious when you are familiar with a certain girls normal behavior/patterns then suddenly see one or all of these signs pop up. Then again you will have exceptions to the rules but getting to know your females is your best bet.;)

Introducing a male can also get your girls to start cycling.

There are many many opinions on when or even if you should cool and from what I've gathered...it's whatever you feel works best for you.

I'm not going to cool this year simply because the whay my room is setup when winter hits the room temp is going to drop about 5F anyway.

I cooled last season to 80F on the heat rope at the lowest point, and had 3 females give me a clutch of 13 perfect eggs, 7 perfect eggs, and 9 eggs with 3 infertile--the rest perfect.

I wouldn't cool any snakes you're not planning breed--it's stressful for them, and will slow down their eating.