Hey,
Hoping I can get some solid advice on if it’s necessary to brumate a MBK.
I’ve read some yes and some no info.
I do not know the sex of my MBK but it’s about 10years old
Approx 4 years ago it may have “naturally” started a brumation cycle but when it came “out of it” it attacked itself. Fortunate the damage done wasn’t life threatening but since then I’ve been absolutely terrified of even trying
It’s currently going through an “I’m active but less interested in food” phase. It wouldn’t eat the rat I got today, last feed was about a week and a half ago.
I have only fed rodents, got it over to rats after the incident. I prekill live as it does NOT go for F/T food.
So just looking for that tip on if it’s necessary to brumate and a good way to go about that. Also kind of timing wise what it looks like for that as I’d really enjoy it not trying to eat itself again lol
2 Likes
I only work with and breed Brooks’/Florida Kings so my experience may be a little different from what is necessary for a MBK, but they are similar so here’s my questions.
How big are the rats you feed your MBK and how big is the snake itself (appr. length and weight in grams)? The reason I ask is that rats seem a little excessive for feeding to a colubrid, my largest King (5ft, 720g) only eats Lrg/jumbo mice once a week to every other week. Rats have a lot more fat content than mice do and this can quickly cause your MBK to become overweight and can cause health issues further down the line.
For MBKs they probably dont need a whole lot to go under brumation, as a species native to Mexico their temps don’t drop down very far. For reference my Brooks Kings only need temps in the low 60s to enter brumation. I achieve this by gradually lowering the temps of their heat sources, eventually turning them off altogether, during the winter and monitor their enclosure temps. However just a simple light cycle change and pressure change can activate brumation as well as long as the conditions are right.
One more thing… you said your snake “attacked” itself after its first brumation. What do you mean by this? I ask because Kingsnakes naturally seek to mate after brumation as they sense the weather beginning to warm and their reproductive cycle kicks into full gear after their post brumation shed. Kingsnake mating can appear very violent… the males will very often bite the females and act quite aggressive with their movement, this is normal for them.
3 Likes
So the feeders I get are a small rat, some are chunkier than others - about 3”long without tail & maybe 1” diameter
Some guy at a reptile shop suggested rats since they’re fattier to “keep him full”
Snake is over 4ft, idk exact length but the cage he’s in is 4ft long and he’s longer than the length of that. So I’d guess 4.5” to 5ft
He’s 760g (just weighed him this AM)
So attacking itself. I wanna say it was about Nov-Mar that it wouldn’t eat, but when it got hungry again it moved past itself and struck and seemed like it was trying to coil around itself. Fortunately it bit on the upper 1/3 of the body but I had to do a lot to get it to let go of itself and it had a pretty good laceration that required skin glue and antibiotics.
That’s the only time I’ve ever let it “go without eating” since then I keep heat year round and feed regularly.
I’ve just seen that not allowing brumation may not be healthy and just wanna do what’s best
Thanks for replying!
3 Likes
I’d say the MBK attacking itself is common behavior for a high-feed response cannabalistic snake, though its definitely something to be concerned about with injuries involved it is just something that happens sometimes with this species. I’d recommend just observing the snake’s behavior before brumation and closely after brumation to ensure it doesn’t happen without you being there to stop it, as coiling is definitely not a breeding behavior in male or female Kings.
Brumation is a good thing for species that go through it naturally and I don’t recommend not doing it, I’ve even heard that some snakes have longer lifespans because of it and are generally healthier/more resistant to things that ail them. I guess its basically a whole body system rest…
With that being said (and this is for anyone reading this), unhealthy/underweight/ill snakes should NEVER be put in brumation, this is guaranteed death for your animal. All snakes being put in brumation should have at least 2 weeks off of feed before entering brumation to clear their system so their food doesn’t rot in their body, and while yes they are in an inactive state they still do move around a little bit and need water. Brumation temps should be approached gradually and never before their 2 week fasting. Temps after brumation should be raised gradually, temperature shock can kill quickly and they should not be fed until their normal enclosure temps are reached. Do not brumate snakes or any reptile that don’t have a natural brumation cycle.
Hope that clears up anything!
2 Likes
Thanks so much!
Super helpful!
What months would you say typically is brumation periods? Again I’ve never done it before so I’m trying to be as meticulous as possible lol
3 Likes
I do mine when the temps naturally begin to drop, but I live in SE Texas so it takes a little while. So thats basically starting the lower temps process at the start of October, beginning brumation late October/early November (depending on how the weather fluctuates) and letting them brumate November-January (around 3 months) and begin raising the temps back up mid-January. By the start of February they should be back on their feed schedule.
(Edit): If you have a female there is a chance she could develop egg follicles after this process and lay infertile eggs. Don’t panic if this does happen, just make sure she is well fed and have the necessary food ready for her after she lays to get her weight back up.
2 Likes
You’re awesome! Thank you so so very much
3 Likes
Feeding kings that aren’t being heavily bred rats will typically lead to excess fat storage which can in turn lead to hepatic lipidosis (fatty liver disease).
I feed all my kings a large mouse each week. I brumate from Thanksgiving to Valentines day.
In my opinion, nigrita are pretty dissimilar to the rest of the getula complex. Whether or not they belong there is above my pay grade but they don’t have the heavy bulky build that the rest of that complex has.
3 Likes
Thank you for pointing this out, I only have ever worked with Brooks Kings so I imagine there is a little bit of variation between each type of Kingsnake. MBKs are outside of what I’ve had physical experience with but I wanted to offer what help I could with the basic knowledge and personal experience I’ve had with the type of Kings I am used to.
As far as I know it is not good for a lot of lean-bodied colubrids to eat rats hence the FLD and just becoming overweight in general. None of my Kings eat rats unless I’m trying to bulk up my female to breed and even then thats just every other week with a rat pup, otherwise she’s on lrg/jumbo mice once a week.
1 Like