Hibenating adult female... can i check on her?

[babyyitslove]

I have a three year old female in hibernation. We JUST got her a few weeks ago and she has already gone down.


Would it be OK to lift the hide and check on her? Just to ensure that there isn't anything crazy Going on under there?

I only worry because we've been having this on/off problem with ants in our whole house, and I would just die if they somehow got into her hide. Maybe I'm just being paranoid. But I'd like a little peace of mind.

Would it be harmful to her cycle if I checked on her? I don't intend to wake her if I can visibly see her breathing.

 

[james.w]

It should be ok. How long has she been down?

 

[babyyitslove]

So far, we haven't seen her or her barracade moved in 3 days.

 

[james.w]

How long have you had her?

 

[babyyitslove]

Going on three weeks. First week or so she was on a routine. Then she slowed down drastically and now we haven't seen her for a few days.

 

[james.w]

I checked on mine a few times throughout their hibernation.

 

[babyyitslove]

I checked on her. She's OK. But then she crawled out and walked around... so I defrosted a rat and her feeding response was vicious! She was noticeably thinner as well.

 

[jdpFL]

Still trying to figure out hibernation. If we move the mulch around and he gets up, does that mean he's not hibernating yet? I keep reading various info, some say if they are hibernating then they won't eat well even if it's offered. Others say if after a few days they stay under, turn the lights down, etc. still others say leave on for awhile, because sometimes they come out a week or two later to bask and digest.

I know there are a lot of varying opinions, but since our guy is small, should we maybe try and keep him up? Or would that be detrimental?

---

Reason I'm asking here, is we have had ours about the same time baby...so figured we need to feed him in case he's just still adjusting to a new home.

 

[babyyitslove]

I think that hibernation is probably one of the only aspects of tegu husbandry that I haven't gotten a good grasp on yet. And go figure she'd start doing this craziness before we had the chance to get comfortable on the topic.

She literally came out, ate, and disappeared again.

I'm confused. And I would hate to be out of the house when she comes out to look for food.. I can't leave food in her tank because it will attract bugs. We've previously had that problem with another reptile.

 

[Piercedcub32]

I though you DO NOT feed a tegu that is up and down, or on its way down because the food will rot in their stomachs and make them very ill ? is this not the case?

 

[james.w]

Hibernation is a very stressful part of tegu keeping for the keeper. I'll explain what I did, I left the lights and heat on for about two weeks after I noticed he wasn't coming out. Then I cut them down to only being on 6 hours a day for a couple more weeks. Then I completely shut everything off. I always had fresh water in the cage in case he got up, but didn't offer food until I saw he was up everyday for a few days. I did check on him a few times and he would come out for about 30 minutes but then go back down.

 

[jdpFL]

According to all I've read, as long as you leave everything on for weeks after they go down, they'll be ok. They can die in hibernation in situations where as soon as they go down, the keeper turns off all the lights and heat....then the tegu wanders out to bask and digest any left over food in the gut, and no light, no heat. So leaving things on for a good while, like James did, will prevent that. So hard to tell though, if they're going down or just having a sleepy day. And you're right baby, unless you sit staring at your tegu cage all day, how do you catch them awake for feeding? What if they come out when your not home, lol. We don't leave food in either, but maybe should...in case?

 

[babyyitslove]

Well, they're natural scavengers.... I'm sure if they're hungry enough they'll at least poke a nose out when they hear us.
My only concern is that she only hid for three days and se looks so much thinner. Almost like she hadn't eaten enough before this whole thing, but you can clearly tell from pics that she was PLUMP.
So is it that they KNOW when food is undigested, and bask to help it, that it IS OK to feed them before?

 

[jdpFL]

That's exactly what I'm wondering baby. Will instinct tell them, so as long as you provide two weeks if heat and light then they're good? Should we rustle around the mulch and wake them up in case they are hungry? Will they flat out refuse food if they are trying to go down? So many questions!

 

[james.w]

Their instincts will handle everything. Just keep your enclosure the same until he/she has been down for at least two weeks. If they come out you can offer food, if they are hungry they will eat. Also keep water out at all times.

 

[babyyitslove]

IVe noticed that she is only pee'n in her water instead of the whole deal. She's eaten, but no poo. What gives?