# How often does your tegu shed?



## mguy (Sep 27, 2010)

Mine sheds about every couple of months it is about 1.5 years old and hibernated for 6 months. Is this normal?


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## Toby_H (Sep 27, 2010)

They basically shed when, or as, they grow...

So during a growth spurt they shed more, during slow periods they shed less...

This is the end of summer when most Tegus are slowing down, so shedding less should be expected... Although over the coarse of this past summer your Tegu should have been growign like a weed and thus shedding frequently.


As for hibernation... Each Tegu is different and quite often the same Tegu will hibernate differently from one winter to the next...

Mine's first winter he slept from November to May without waking up one single time... His second winter he slowed down considerably didn't truly hibernate for more than a few weeks... This year he's already begun to slow down and I've almost stopped feeding to allow him to go into full hibernation.

All in all, regarding hibernation, follow your Tegus lead. When he starts coming out for less hours per day, feed him less. When he stops coming out every day, feed him less days per week. When he starts sleeping multiple days in a row, stop feeding for the season and let him go to sleep. 

During hibernation I like to still have the UVB light come on for a few hours during the day but I turn off all heat sources. Just in case he wakes up and feels a need to bask. 

When he finally wakes up he probably wonn't be too eager to eat a huge meal. It will be much more important for him to bask and warm up. This is necessary to activate him metabolism.


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## Guest (Sep 27, 2010)

mine has been shedding literally every week, i've only had it a month, its a baby and growing like a weed. i'm interested to see if it hibernates


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## slideaboot (Sep 27, 2010)

Yeah, my extreme sheds every week. It's pretty ridiculous. He's less than three months old, but is over 2 feet long (and girthy).


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