Hibernating Still?

[mguy]

My Black and White has been hibernating since early november it is his first time any idea how much longer he about a year old now.

 

[Toby_H]

It's not surprising...

My female B&W was born in summer of '08. She went into hibernation in mid november '08 and woke up in late April/early May '09...

This winter she has slept considerably less...

 

[mguy]

Ok thanks should I hold off on the fatty foods he wakes up i.e. mice, eggs, butterworms

 

[Adam87]

id say so just leave alittle fruit out or alittle ground beef my tegu is just coming out of hibernation and hes eating alittle bit more everyday

 

[Toby_H]

If it is in hibernation I would not offer any food... Offering food every day while a Tegu hibernates would add up to a lot of wasted food...

Both times mine has hibernated I ran 4~5 hours per day of UVB, no heat lamp, fresh water (I have an airstone in her water dish to keep it 'fresh' longer)... Mist every 2~3 days to keep things moist...

When they wake up from a long hibernation it is not likely it will immediately want a large meal. You will likely find it waking up for short periods to bask in UVB then go back to sleep...

When you see it starting to come up then I would begin offering heat. I taper the heat down in the fall to simulate the end of summer and the onset of winter, then reverse the seasonal simulation in the spring.

Once it is waking up to bask every day I would then start offering small amounts of food. It is likely that once he'she starts eating it will start with just a little bit and increase as activity increases.


But if your Tegu is hibernating soundly, there is no reason to wake it up nor offer it food... The only benefit offering a few hours of UVB is so when it does wake up, it has UVB to bask under...

I found it very easy to glance at the surface of the mulch and see that mine had not waken up. Then one day when I checked on the cage and the mulch looked different, I knew she had gotten up and I monitored closer.

 

[HorseCaak]

It probably won't eat for a week and a half after being awake from hibernation. It could wake up any day, or still another month or so. Just random. Mine has been up for 3 weeks now and took her a week and a half before any interest in food. Just turn lights back on when it's out and have fresh water available and plenty of humidity as always.

-BLAIR

 

[txrepgirl]

Four out off six of our Tegus have been hibernating since September and October. One woke up on Velentines day and the other one the day after. The other two are still hibernating. The two that woke up ate a f/t rat today and they had some ground turkey and hardboiled eggs a few days ago. I would wait until you Tegu wakes up and has been basking and beeing uder the UVB for a few day. Mine started to eat on the third day. But please make sure he drinks enough water.

 

[Bentley83]

Mine are still sleeping even though they come out for a little bit but then go back to sleep. I checked on them today and they were all sleeping.

Chris

 

[mguy]

ok guys thanks for all the info heard some noises today maybe he will be out soon

 

[All_American]

maybe so, I finally got to see one pop his head out of substrate for a bit of water then that was the end of that...sigh

 

[Orion]

My Tegu is still hibernating and has not been out since November.