# Stop hibernation?



## RickyNo (Sep 20, 2013)

Im looking to purchase a black and white tegu at the reptile show coming to tampa next month. Ive owned reptiles for many years and always have wanted one that was large. My only concern is I do not want him to hibernate. Is there a sure fire way to stop them from doing so?


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## Skeetzy (Sep 23, 2013)

Simply put, for Argentine tegus, no. Each individual tegu makes their own decision for hibernation. It's thought to be some sort of internal clock. Some never hibernate, some hibernate for a month or two, and some, like mine, disappear for upwards of 7 months. 

I tried EVERYTHING to get mine out of hibernation. He was so small I feared he wouldn't survive. I tried keeping the heat/daylight cycle going, warm water over where he was burrowed, encouraging with food, etc. He came out one day with some encouraging, but went right back down. After a month of trying, I gave up, and let him be. He woke up just shy of 7 months being under. If you want one that will not hibernate, go with a Columbian.


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## Roadkill (Sep 23, 2013)

There is, but it requires you to be in total control of all zeitgebers. It isn't genetic, it isn't an internal clock, it is influenced by external cues. If it were genetic/internal clock driven, then all tegus would hibernate according to when winter occurs in South America, they wouldn't adapt and change to the northern hemisphere's seasons.


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## TeguBuzz (Sep 24, 2013)

Roadkill said:


> There is, but it requires you to be in total control of all zeitgebers. It isn't genetic, it isn't an internal clock, it is influenced by external cues. If it were genetic/internal clock driven, then all tegus would hibernate according to when winter occurs in South America, they wouldn't adapt and change to the northern hemisphere's seasons.



Very well put. To the OP - in my past experience, I've never been able to prevent any of my argentines from hibernating. They either did, or they didn't - some would while others wouldn't even when kept in the exact same conditions.

If you're looking for a tegu that won't hibernate, a teguixin would probably be your best bet. 

I've also heard that blues don't hibernate, but mine did - only for about 2 months though, so you could go with that.


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## RickyNo (Sep 24, 2013)

I dont think I could ever trust a columbian tegu to be honest. Its no big deal really a couple of months wouldnt be too bad but 7 is just wow do you even have a pet at that point lol? Bearded dragons are supposed to brumate but mine have never in 2 years so perhaps I'll just try my best to keep the conditions correct. Im actually allergic to the bacteria in monitors mouths. I got bit by a savannah juvi and that sent me straight to the hospital. My throat started to close up, real hard to breath and my body was getting stiff as a board. Anything too aggressive would be kind of bad for me lol. But I'll always feel empty if i dont get this tegu at repticon in 2 weeks.


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## Skeetzy (Sep 24, 2013)

Roadkill said:


> There is, but it requires you to be in total control of all zeitgebers. It isn't genetic, it isn't an internal clock, it is influenced by external cues. If it were genetic/internal clock driven, then all tegus would hibernate according to when winter occurs in South America, they wouldn't adapt and change to the northern hemisphere's seasons.



I had to look up what zeitgebers means. "a cue given by the environment, such as a change in light or temperature, to reset the internal body clock." 

I've always looked to you for the best advice Roadkill, due to your experience and studies with tegus. I just want to pick your brain, especially after that definition, and mean no disrespect in questioning you. Merely just would like a more thorough explanation I guess. I get antsy when I only lightly grasp a concept. 

Why does a tegu go into hibernation when kept in a controlled environment, with no changes? Last year my guy was down the day I got him (9/11). As of yesterday he was still up and about, with minimal signs of slowing down. I guess what I'm going more towards is do we have any idea what these zeitgebers are that trigger the hibernation. I've let the ambient temperature slip a little with my house temp, and slowed his feeding down in anticipation of him going under already. Yet he's still begging to come out to eat and get some free roam time everyday. It makes me wonder what's actually going to trigger him to stop coming out.


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## RickyNo (Sep 24, 2013)

if I keep his cage temps at what they are supposed to be but the temperature inside my house is 73 do you think him roaming the house would cause him to want to hibernate?


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## Roadkill (Sep 24, 2013)

I probably can't give you the answers you really want, Skeetzy. As for what zeitgebers are responsible for telling a tegu "when to hibernate", we have some idea, but nothing complete and definitive. Keeping tegus in total darkness will put them into a hibernation state. Cool temperatures will also help suppress metabolism. So both light and temperature are zeitgebers, but how they are, and what exactly their effect is is unclear. Light is a very, very complex signal, and we don't know what aspects of it tegus are responding to. Is it the daylength? Is it the change in daylength? Is it the intensity? Is it the angle of incidence? Is it the complement of the wavelengths? Is it a synergistic effect between the light and temperature? You say "why does a tegu go into hibernation when kept in a controlled environment, with no changes?", but I'd ask if this is merely your perception. I've routinely pointed out to people that if the tegus are kept in a room with any windows, even a tiny little one, that window is sending a far greater, far more complex signal to your tegu than any light bulb you are exposing your tegu to. You need to understand the strength of that signal, and what it means to the tegu. If light were sound, even a tiny little window in the tegu's room would be like you standing next to the stage speakers at a rock concert, while the artificial lighting schedule you are subjecting the tegu to would be like a morse code message coming through on a cell phone set to low volume. You're standing at that rock concert, holding that phone to one ear - are you making out that morse code clearly or is it pretty much lost in the sheer complexity of the music?
Then there's also the factor of timing. From my studies, my data indicates that the tegus I worked with were only "fully" active metabolically for about 3 months of the year. They were active for far longer than this, but the rest of that "active" time they were ramping their metabolism down, preparing for hibernation (but not giving much visual sign this was taking place). This has two big implications: it means the preparation period is very long and drawn out; and that they are beginning this preparation in response to extremely small changes in their overall environment (the approximate time of this "beginning" is about or shortly after summer solstice - so days are getting shorter, average temperatures lower, but in both cases only very slightly). So where am I going with this? Well, people often keep their tegus outside during much of the summer, or roaming around the house with lots of windows. They're receiving these strong signals that the seasons are changing and it is time to prepare for hibernation. Their metabolism sets for "prepare for hibernation". Then comes fall, the owners don't want to see their tegus hibernate so they try to control the conditions - kind of like driving your car off the road, over the cliff, and then just before hitting the canyon floor you apply the brakes - you tell me why your car doesn't stop before hitting the ground.
For me, when I kept my tegus in rooms with no windows at all, where temperature, lighting, humidity, etc. were under constant control, constant conditions, I didn't get hibernation. However, this being said, I also had tegus outside in natural conditions that came out and basked everyday during hibernation. Some only "hibernated" one week, others slept for 5 months straight. Just because one provides the "natural" cycles doesn't mean they will hibernate for sure. About the only thing I've seen that ensured hibernation is keeping them in complete darkness.


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## Skeetzy (Sep 25, 2013)

That clears everything up a lot. You seem to have a good grasp on this. I love the analogies, it's how I help explain IT things to customers at work. I completely forgot the role play a window has in hibernation, with natural sunlight able to be seen from anywhere in the room. It makes a whole lot more sense now. 

I'm just awaiting the day my gu doesn't come up and finally hibernates. He's almost 3 weeks passed last year's date, and is definitely slowed down. I just hope this year isn't a 7 month hibernation. But we'll see. The room he's in has an unblocked view of sunlight, compared to last year where sun only got through at peak hours because of a large tree. I'm willing to be that played a role in him staying under so long.


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## laurarfl (Sep 25, 2013)

Great info, thank you. 

One of my jobs as an undergrad student at U of Fl was working with a prof and his grad students researching female reproduction in horses and sheep. As an undergrad I was just a lab peon, but also had care of the horses, drawing blood, etc. I didn't work with the sheep because it was such a particular project. I know with them the focus was on the pineal gland and light cycles. During that part of the project, the sheep were currently being kept in full darkness since their estrus cycles are strongly influenced by light as well. Doesn't really contribute to the thread much, but I thought it was fascinating.

Also, ferrets suffer from adrenal disease in which their reproductive hormones become unbalanced causing significant behavior and health issues. The current theory is that early spaying for the pet trade along with extended light cycles due to artificial lighting in homes is the culprit.

Reptiles have a pineal gland, some lizards even have the parietal eye. It would only make sense that they are strongly driven by light cues.


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## laurarfl (Sep 25, 2013)

Skeetzy, last year that baby was kept in a room with a sliding glass door about 5 ft away. My reptile room intentionally gets flooded with natural sunlight. Plus I live in FL, closer to the equator.


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## laurarfl (Sep 25, 2013)

To the OP, I have two awesome adult Colombians, _T teguixin_. They go to my classroom and summer camps and my middle school students ask about them by name.


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## Skeetzy (Sep 25, 2013)

Laura, then he moved to a cage with a window 5 feet away. He's actually up rather early today. The window in his bedroom(yes, his own bedroom lol) is behind his cage. So he doesn't get direct sunlight but still the real daylight cycle. 

Is your guy from this clutch still up? How's he doing Btw? Ink is over 3' and has a healthy girth about him.


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## RickyNo (Sep 26, 2013)

a lot of good information here Thank You roadkill and everyone else who has contributed to this thread


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## RickyNo (Sep 26, 2013)

laurarfl said:


> To the OP, I have two awesome adult Colombians, _T teguixin_. They go to my classroom and summer camps and my middle school students ask about them by name.


I dont want the columbians due to their aggresive behavior


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## laurarfl (Sep 26, 2013)

I have two from this clutch and they are both awake. I have Kolby, a female, that I kept as an original hatchling. She is doing great, but only about 2 ft. She is starting to grow a lot lately though. The other I have is Jazz, a male that I bought back. He is probably close to 3ft. I'm not sure he would appreciate being measured. haha


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## Skeetzy (Sep 27, 2013)

Yeah my guy thinks the tape measure is a toy. Tries chasing it every time I take it out. I gave up measuring him, rough estimates are good enough hahah. 

He didn't come out yesterday at all, maybe he finally went to sleep.


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