Cold Tolerance of B/W?

[carcharios]

I've read that in their natural habitat, it sometimes flurries but I was curious as to what the cold tolerance is for this species. Does anyone know the USDA zone for the colder regions in which Tegus live or the average yearly lows?

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[carcharios]

Ok, let me rephrase this; what it the coldest temperature you've ever exposed your Tegu to?

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[Toby_H]

Argentina, being in the Southern Hemisphere, has the opposite seasons as we do up here in the Northern Hemisphere. This means right now is the middle of their winter, when the wild Tegus are down there hibernating...

Buenos Aires, Argentina 10 day weather forecast - <!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://www.weather.com/outlook/travel/businesstraveler/tenday/ARBA0009?from=36hr_topnav_business" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;">http://www.weather.com/outlook/travel/b ... v_business</a><!-- m -->

San Lorenzo, Argentina 10 day weather forecast - <!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://www.weather.com/outlook/travel/businesstraveler/tenday/ARBA0009?from=36hr_topnav_business" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;">http://www.weather.com/outlook/travel/b ... v_business</a><!-- m -->

Bobby lives in Florida and keeps his outside all year aroundÃ?¢ââ??¬Ã?¦ but since itÃ?¢ââ??‰â??¢s summer in Florida finding cold temps isnÃ?¢ââ??‰â??¢t as easy (but is doable if your determined )Ã?¢ââ??¬Ã?¦

As for personal experience with cold temperatures and TegusÃ?¢ââ??¬Ã?¦ My girl hibernated last winter and this spring I put her cage outside in April. In April the coldest nights got around 50*F, with 55*F more commonÃ?¢ââ??¬Ã?¦ Do note that she was just waking up from hibernation during these temps and spend the vast majority of her time buried in mulch. The daytime temps at this time got in the low to mid 70s. It was over the course of April that she started waking up and coming out every day eventually beginning to eat on a regular basis.

 

[Toby_H]

Just to add in... the average temperatures suggested on the Wikipedia page for Buenos Aires Argentina suggests slightly warmer temperatures than the forecast linked above - <!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buenos_Aires#Climate" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buenos_Aires#Climate</a><!-- m -->

 

[ierowe]

I was wondering if it was ok to keep a tegu outside all year round in so cal (San Bernadino) I know there are people from palm springs and riverside maybe they have an idea.Thanks

 

[argus333]

my black and white stays out into the 30's well into nov. although at that time he is fully buried under 10 inches of mulch leaves and dirt with hay mixed in. then on a semi warm i dig him up with the dirt mulch mix and put him in my basement in big tupperware box with air holes.. which is 55 to 60. i wet it down with water every 2 weeks or so. he is 7 yrs old and does this every yr. my black and white has been under snow a few times .

 

[carcharios]

Argus,
How long do you leave your tegu in the basement? You said you bring him in around November. At what point do you bring him out again?

Frieda is in the sunroom, which is around 80 - 90 on any given day during the summer. I was initially worried that this temp would be too hight but that is the air temp. The floor of the sunporch is concrete, which is cooler than the air so I'm not that concerned; if she overheats, she can retreat under the couch, which is shaded and probably much cooler. I have her hide in there as well, which is a 35 or 40 gallon rubbermaid with a hole drilled out the side for her to enter and exit.

The temps in the sunporch get down to around 45 degrees during the coldest nights of winter. I guess I could just duct-tape a piece of cardboard where the opening of her hide is and leave her out there throughout the winter months - or I could move the entire hide to our basement, which is probably around 60 during the winter months. Which option do you think would be better?

Also Argus, where in NJ do you live? I grew up in Mt. Laurel and Haddon Twp. I now live in Lusby, MD, which is USDA zone 7a, a little warmer than Jersey.

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[argus333]

around march i put a screen top over box for 4 hrs 3 weeks then 6 hrs for 2 weeks then 8 hrs by then its end of may and he is eating again then i put him back out just did it 2 weeks ago he has been out since. i put a small pig blanket in his hide outside noe just for those cool nights and so hes doesn't hibernate agin on me. im in monmouth county 2 miles from ocean. id go with basement its darker and most likly a little damper.

 

[MIKE-ZILLA]

I put my tegu in a plastic container (filled with slightly moist leaves,dirt and mulch. I live in n.c. so sometime in november it the temp inside his box was 50 f. i brought him inside and kept him in a cool room 68-72f. for the rest of the winter. in the middle of march i placed him in his cage and waited for him to emerge from hyberation.during the last week of march i began slowly increasing the temp. Burt Langerwerf put out a good article on tegu hybernation (reptile magazine ,june 08 issue) it reads in part "lizardkeepers sometimes let tegus hibernating outdoors cool down too much.if temps stay contantly in the mid 40's tegus get pneumonia and die during hybernation". it also says most of the time the temp should be more than 50 F.