Carpet Cooling Question

[Zoe]

Hey,
Okay, I'm going to cool my pair of IJs pretty soon (in two weeks... I want the female to pound back a few more jumbos before winter), but I have some questions.

1. I know males eat less than females, but till now they've both been eating the same size prey (med/large rats). I've started, however, giving the female jumbos to fatten her up for the breeding season, and I was wondering if I should do the same with the male; keep his food the same size as before; or go down in size (ie small/meds until cooling).
2. Do I even need to stop feeding them during cooling, if they are still looking for food? I'm going to begin lowering the temps, of course, but not by much, and I was just wondering if I should stop feeding them as long as they are eating.
3. If I *should* stop feeding them, do I do it abruptly? Or just shrink in size? (ie next week = med rat, week after = small, then no more food)?

I think those are the only questions I have. I'm not going to try cooling them very hard this year, because they did so well last year and I'm pretty sure most breeders don't cool at all, so the less work for me, the better.

Thanks!
Zoe

[Jeff_Favelle]

A) Carpets shouldn't really be cooled. They get "cooler" nights, but the days stay the same.

B) Females can eat during the breeding period and actually, its a trade secret to get them to ovulate and have lots of eggs. So I wouldn't worry about fattening them up. Its not like a colubrid where they will be without food for 3 months. Carpets don't hibernate or brumate. They have a period where the night time temperatures cool down a bit more than normal, and that's it. They eat just like normal. Nothing changes. They DON'T go dormant.

C) Don't worry about the males. They will stop eating the day after you drop the night time temps.

D) Don't over think it. If you did something that worked the previous year, why the he!! would you even care what others do, right or wrong, in THEIR setups? Its irrelevant.

[Zoe]

:D Thank you Jeff!
And yup, I know about the cooler nights thing. It does that naturally in my room (though not so much now that I have a heater in my room :D at least it doesn't go down to 65F in winter anymore! so now I can turn off the heat pads and just have the heater on.)

I also have another question: is thermoregulation important 24/7? Like I just mentionned, I have a heater that goes on at night and the whole room is 78-82 (depending on where you're standing in relation to the heater), so there is pretty much no temperature variation in the cages at night. If need be, I can, say, set the heat pads on the lowest setting at night... During the day, obviously, the animals have warm/cool spots.

D) Don't over think it. If you did something that worked the previous year, why the he!! would you even care what others do, right or wrong, in THEIR setups? Its irrelevant. Because I don't remember what I did last year! :D Okay, that isn't entirely true, and I'm not terribly worried about how things will turn out (at the very, very worst, they won't breed. I can handle that - and I'll know why next year), but I don't want to hassle with temps if I don't really have to :)

Oh! Last one! Is 79F cool enough for night time temps for them during winter? Or is that too high?

Thanks!
Zoe

[Jeff_Favelle]

I also have another question: is thermoregulation important 24/7?

Thermoregulation is an entire reptile's life. Their very existence depends upon it. Whether its basking, or trying to get as cool as possible, they do it for a reason, and they do it all year-round. No days off for your snakes.

Oh! Last one! Is 79F cool enough for night time temps for them during winter? Or is that too high?

I can't say for sure. I've never really measured the temperatures. All I know is, my room ambient goes from 84F during the day, to 70F at night for 8-10 weeks starting Nov. 1st. Heat stays on in the cages themselves, but I'm sure it drops much like the room does. Males start getting ultra-active right around now, and the females hide, even at night.

You have to remember, these things are experts at being snakes, because in fact, that's what they are. They HAVE to be. If given the choice, properly maintained females will cycle THEMSELVES. That is, if you have a range of cooler and warmer temperatures WITHIN their cages, adult females with proper weight will do all the guess-work for you. That's why they are sooo easy to breed. You basically have to do EVERYTHING wrong to screw up a Carpet breeding. Trust me.