Re: Breeding hohenackeri - What are the key constraints?

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Posted by Paul Hollander on August 09, 2000 at 18:25:55:

In Reply to: Breeding hohenackeri - What are the key constraints? posted by Ray Loraine on August 06, 2000 at 11:15:07:

Hi, Ray. LONG time.

That was an excellent post! I just wanted to add a few things that have struck me over the years.

1) Is the captive diet optimum (as opposed to adequate) for breeders? I've heard rumors that Florida indigo snakes seem to go infertile after a couple of years of breeding, which isn't natural, IMHO. On a related note, nearly every year at least one of the local (Iowa) fox snakes drops into my father's pigeon cages and chows down on eggs and nestlings. All the North American rat snakes seem to have a reputation for that sort of thing. Would an occassional hatchling chicken give our snakes a needed nutrient boost for breeding?

2) In the wild, snakes and lizards get a daily temperature cycle. We all know that they have to get above a minimum temperature to be persuaded to eat and properly digest their food. And plenty of studies have shown that there is a preferred body temperature which differs from species to species. However, in many species of reptiles (and mammals, too), prolonged high temperature will injure and kill sperm. How much does the temperature have to drop every day to avoid sperm injury?

3) What are temperature conditions in a snake nest? IOW, what are the temperatures that eggs incubate at in the wild? Is there a constant temperature or a temperature cycle?

4) Are we herpers too impatient? A very common snake spermiogenesis pattern is to produce sperm in mid to late summer and store it over the winter for spring breeding. Once the sperm has been killed off, the male is likely to be sterile for one or two breeding seasons after proper daily temperature cycling and brumation are resumed.

5) A long time ago I read in a caving book that cave temperature equals the average year round surface temperature. That would be the maximum hibernation temperature that a snake would be exposed to. Minimum hibernation temperature would be somewhere above 32 F (0 C). The Wold Almanac is a handy spot for temperature information for various cities around the USA, and the World Climatological Survey has a lot of information from around the world.

Paul Hollander

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: Hi, Ray. LONG time. : That was an excellent post! I just wanted to add a few things that have struck me over the years. : 1) Is the captive diet optimum (as opposed to adequate) for breeders? I've heard rumors that Florida indigo snakes seem to go infertile after a couple of years of breeding, which isn't natural, IMHO. On a related note, nearly every year at least one of the local (Iowa) fox snakes drops into my father's pigeon cages and chows down on eggs and nestlings. All the North American rat snakes seem to have a reputation for that sort of thing. Would an occassional hatchling chicken give our snakes a needed nutrient boost for breeding? : 2) In the wild, snakes and lizards get a daily temperature cycle. We all know that they have to get above a minimum temperature to be persuaded to eat and properly digest their food. And plenty of studies have shown that there is a preferred body temperature which differs from species to species. However, in many species of reptiles (and mammals, too), prolonged high temperature will injure and kill sperm. How much does the temperature have to drop every day to avoid sperm injury? : 3) What are temperature conditions in a snake nest? IOW, what are the temperatures that eggs incubate at in the wild? Is there a constant temperature or a temperature cycle? : 4) Are we herpers too impatient? A very common snake spermiogenesis pattern is to produce sperm in mid to late summer and store it over the winter for spring breeding. Once the sperm has been killed off, the male is likely to be sterile for one or two breeding seasons after proper daily temperature cycling and brumation are resumed. : 5) A long time ago I read in a caving book that cave temperature equals the average year round surface temperature. That would be the maximum hibernation temperature that a snake would be exposed to. Minimum hibernation temperature would be somewhere above 32 F (0 C). The Wold Almanac is a handy spot for temperature information for various cities around the USA, and the World Climatological Survey has a lot of information from around the world. : Paul Hollander

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