Ready to get things underway

[grunt_11b]

I didn't know that about the barometric pressure.. Thanks Ed for the idea.. I'm going to get one of those barometers. So for the people that don't cool, the hotspot and the ambient all stay the same the whole season?? I'm thinking of not cooling my snakes but want to know exactly how you guys do it.. I've seen alot of breeding recipes with the specifics of how to cool but none with the non-cooling method.. I just want to be sure I'm going about it right.. I know it's probably really simple but being my first season I want to get it right.. LOL

Alan

[m00kfu]

What we did this past season was just throw the male into the female's tub for 3 days, then take him back out. No cooling. Most times they were locked up by the end of the first day. If a copulation was observed, they were removed after the lock was released instead of waiting the full 3 days. Granted, we were only breeding two pairs of snakes, but we did end up with clutches from both pairs.

[rabernet]

I didn't cool, and I paired when weather fronts were coming in. Females ate until they ovualted, and my males ate pretty well as well. I used Hatchrite for my incubation substrate. My temps never changed year round. I only bred three females, but all three succesfully laid eggs and I had 100% hatch rate.

[Jay_Bunny]

You can use vermiculite, right? The garden store up the street sells it really cheap.

[jglass38]

I am not dropping room temps this season. The room stays at 84 or so. The males are on heat 24/7. In October I'll start turning off the heat tape on the female tubs at night. I use a light timer to reduce the amount of "daylight". There are many things that work. Do what works for you. I personally will never let my room drop below 80 degrees. Too much risk for RI for my comfort.

[m00kfu]

You can use vermiculite, right? The garden store up the street sells it really cheap.

We used vermiculite with a piece of egg crate on top. Keeps the eggs nice and dry, don't have to worry about adding too much water and keeps the humidity nice and high. Had zero traces of mold.