# Hibernation Temp



## Guest (Nov 5, 2007)

What temperature should I set at for his hibe period. I've got his pad set at 75 and the ambient temp at 70. No light.


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## Mike (Nov 5, 2007)

I use 55. 65 is max.


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## RehabRalphy (Nov 5, 2007)

Mike said:


> I use 55. 65 is max.



Yup


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## Guest (Nov 5, 2007)

10-4. Thank you guys.


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## VARNYARD (Nov 5, 2007)

I put a thermometer into one of my outside burrows; the coldest part of winter was in the 20s the warmest part 70s. The temp ranged between 53*f to 57*f. That is a fluctuation of only four degrees.


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## DaveDragon (Nov 8, 2007)

How can you properly hibernate them inside if the ambient temp in the room is 70 degrees??

The garage is well insulated and stays in the 50's or 60's in the winter but gets alot colder when the garage doors are open!! That won't work!


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## greentriple (Nov 8, 2007)

As many of you know, I'm not trying to hibernate "El Che", however we've had some cool temps this week, mid to upper 60's and my garage where he's at has been in the upper 50's, it's been overcast and foggy with quite a bit of humidity in the air, and he's been dug in for 2 day, not eating on playing, he did come out for a little yesterday to bask.

All this said, the temps range from 80-102 and his burrow was 78.6, yet he is still doing his extended down time. Can't say it's hibernating, just longer naps....


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## DaveDragon (Nov 8, 2007)

That sounds like what some of our Tegu's are doing. Random appearances.


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## tegulevi (Nov 8, 2007)

i keep my house at 67 in the winter, just low enough to allow hibernation and not freeze my balls off


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## Guest (Nov 8, 2007)

DaveDragon said:


> That sounds like what some of our Tegu's are doing. Random appearances.



Exactly what Apollo is doing. Just random appearances. Global warming! Our weather is really screwed up right now. Bout 55 in the morning and low 80's in the afternoon. It's November for Christ's sake!


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## VARNYARD (Nov 8, 2007)

Tegus should hibernate at 70, if the lights are off and no heat is on them. I have hibernated them inside before at 70, never had much of an issue of them coming out at all.


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## DaveDragon (Nov 8, 2007)

I'm assuming their metabolism just doesn't completely shut down at 70 degrees.


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## VARNYARD (Nov 8, 2007)

Well I have kept babies inside before, they went dormant and I did not notice ant weight loss at 70 degrees. Colin could probably help more with this; if he sees it maybe he will post on it as well. .


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## DaveDragon (Nov 8, 2007)

Someone needs to get him over here (more than the 1 post he has) and help us with these technical questions.


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## HPB (Nov 14, 2007)

This is really a sticky subject, but I thought I'd share my two cents. 

I've never tried to put down any of my herps (even wc eastern painted turtles during the cold season), but what info I've learned is that it's a challenge that has to be done with extreme care when housing herps. 

Here's my take gone wild...

Hibernating a reptile requires two things. First and the most important factor is temperatures. Night time temps are where the greatest constrast in temps occur. In arid climates, deserts can reach 95 during the day, but at night, temps can fall to 55 or less. This dramatic decrease at night will trigger a natural or instictive response that the season is cooling. Plants, fish and insect populations will stop growing, slow down and or die. This brings me to my next point.

Food. 

Food isn't as plentyful because of temperature fluctuations. In the northeast it can be 40 in the day, but drop to 0 at night. Not warm enough to maintain plant rejuvination, insects to live or fish to thrive. 

Two conclusions in captivity. A decrease in moderated temps will slow down activity and ultimately metabolism. The less activity an animal performs, the more their metabolism decreases. A decrease in food consumption will slow down activity and ultimately metabolism. The less food an animal eats, usually triggered by environmental factors(temperature-->stimulant) the more likely that animal will go dormant.

As for numbers? The best resource I've followed is real world values. Check weather forcasts for that area. Right now at Ministro Pistarini International Airport in Argentina, the temp is 39F. Where I'm originally from in upstate NY, it's 50F and it's 66F where I'm currently at. Realistically, unless I shoved icepacks in a hibernation den of my setup, I wouldn't try to force hibernate any of my species even if I wanted to breed. It's all about temps.


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## DZLife (Feb 1, 2008)

That makes sense; check the original habitat range's temps!!! 
*eye-boggles at the simple ingenuity of it*


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