6yr old B&W didn’t make it through hibernation

[VA farmer]

wud up all,
I went to try to wake up my B&W tegu from hibernation last week and he was dead. He was 6yrs old, always left water for him during hibernation and offered food. He had deep bedding and a hid box. He always went into hibernation after the female but, always woke up before her. We did have a really cold winter here in VA this year so, a couple nights I’m sure the temps dropped pretty low.

Has anyone else ever had this happen? I’ve never lost a lizard or snake like this before. Just wondering if it’s my fault because I forgot to check the enclosure temp during the crazy winter this year. I figured the the heat lamp on the timer would do it like it does every year. Could he of gotten sick if the temp dropped to low a few nights?

Thanks for any info

 

[Walter1]

Very sorry for the loss.

Possibly wet AND cold??

 

[RomanPort]

I'm really sorry for the loss of your little buddy. I'm sure he enjoyed you.

 

[VA farmer]

Thanks all,
Normally I let them do there thing during the winter just fresh water. But, the wife did remind me that we did loss power twice this winter. Just surprised, the female is less than half his size and she survived the winter. The male was built like a bulldog lol. We only lost power for 2 days each time but, inside the house it never dropped below 60 degrees when we lost power. I was assuming it would be warmer inside the enclosure when they were buried in the bedding together.
Not planning on getting another male. I’ll just keep the female and concentrate on her..

 

[Walter1]

Sometimes, we just don't know.

 

[AlphaAlpha]

sorry for loss....These things just happen sometime, I think you're probably torturing yourself over something that can never be explained.

 

[VA farmer]

Your right, I bought it for my daughter 6 yrs ago and just feel bad. We all grew close to him. We’ll get over it just a a real laidback dude that Tegu

 

[VA farmer]

Thanks for all the replies

 

[Debita]

So sorry this happened to you - I just had this happen with one of my Bearded Dragons, and was shocked. Honestly, we had the same probs here in the mountains in Southern Cali. We are about a 5600ft in altitude, and we have lots of power outages. I always try to keep our fires going to compensate, but in the end - like you - it's a mystery. My year old Tegu survived very well. Again, sorry for your loss - it's amazing the effect these silly lizards have on all of us.

 

[VA farmer]

Lol,
Never thought I’d feel so bad losing my lizard. Like I lost a part of the family!!

 

[Debita]

It's tough! I lost my first Tegu to MBD and was torn up! It was a baby blue with a great disposition - no huffing/puffing. It absolutely broke my heart. They have a way of effecting your heart pretty quickly!