A newborn litter of Natrix maura (Viperine Water Snakes) “waking up” after a short 7 week hibernation in the fridge.

The mother of the babies is a 12 year old captive bred specimen originating from Southern France (the grandfather of these babies actually was one of my first baby Viperines back in 1986).

The father of this litter is a wild caught male from Morocco.

This year I tried a new strategy with my Natrix maura babies. This litter hatched mid September.
After hatching I waited about 2 – 3 weeks until all the babies had shed their skin for the first time.

I did not offer them any food, and once they all had shed I put them in the fridge at approximately 4 – 8°C.

A newborn litter of Natrix maura (Viperine Water Snakes) “waking up” after a short 7 week hibernation in the fridge.

A newborn litter of Natrix maura (Viperine Water Snakes) “waking up” after a short 7 week hibernation in the fridge.

A newborn litter of Natrix maura (Viperine Water Snakes) “waking up” after a short 7 week hibernation in the fridge.