Hibernating?

[Tarantu1aMan]

I'm not too familiar on hibernation,when do tegus usually start hibernating and what so you do when they start?any heat ajustments or anything?

 

[MIKE-ZILLA]

I think most start slowing down around late september, but it most likely has alot to do with the temps. (this is assuming yours is captive bred and born in north america cause there is a difference) you will notice when your tegu begins his/her winter rest period. how you handle it is up to you.1yearIkept mine in a rubbermaid tub filled with wood chips ,dirt and leaves. I kept him in a storage area under the house.I used a digital thermometer with a probe. when the temps droped to 50F. I brought him inside for the remainder of the winter (at 68-72 F) he never woke up and remained sleeping for 4months inside the house) check on him and dont let the substrate dry out. but dont let it get wet either. also you MUST follow the cool down procedures used for snakes and other reptiles(keep temps constant and stop feeding prior to cooling. allow them to expell thier bowels. then start to reduce the temps slowly until no external heat is used.

 

[Toby_H]

Just my experience from last yearÃ?¢ââ??¬Ã?¦

The Tegu cage was in my fishroom which had a constant temperature of 80*F and high humidityÃ?¢ââ??¬Ã?¦

Around October she started coming up less, eating less, etcÃ?¢ââ??¬Ã?¦

By the end of October she stopped eating and rarely came above groundÃ?¢ââ??¬Ã?¦

By early November she was down for the seasonÃ?¢ââ??¬Ã?¦ once I went a week or so without seeing her I stopped turning her basking light on (well unplugged it from the timer)Ã?¢ââ??¬Ã?¦

The room remained 80*F with high humidityÃ?¢ââ??¬Ã?¦ I continued to mist the mulch every other day or soÃ?¢ââ??¬Ã?¦

I moved in late March and no longer have a fishroom so she simply moved into the house (still hibernating)Ã?¢ââ??¬Ã?¦ around mid to late April she showed herself for the first time (boy was that a relief!)Ã?¢ââ??¬Ã?¦ By mid May she was quite activeÃ?¢ââ??¬Ã?¦

In the last 6 weeks sheÃ?¢ââ??‰â??¢s grown like a darn weedÃ?¢ââ??¬Ã?¦ he cage has been outside since the weather stopped getting too cold (55*F) at night. She gets morning through early afternoon sun in her cage and loves basking in natural sunlightÃ?¢ââ??¬Ã?¦


I was really worried about getting the hibernation rightÃ?¢ââ??¬Ã?¦ had a big game plan of encouraging her to go down in early December and moving her into a Rubbermaid container, yada yada yadaÃ?¢ââ??¬Ã?¦ it ended up being super simple and I basically did nothing at all except keep her enclosure moist.

 

[Tarantu1aMan]

Really informative,thx guys

 

[carcharios]

I've kind an issue in terms of hibernation. I brought one juvenile Tegu from PETCO and my guess is that the little guy is wild caught. He's been basically hibernating since I got him in early June though he did come out a few times to eat. About two weeks after getting the little guy, I adopted a larger female and she is clearly not hibernating. She lives in the sunroom where it is much warmer - goes up to 95 in the day and down to upper 70's / low 80's at night. I would move my smaller Tegu out there as well but the size difference is too great and my larger female could eat him. How can I get my smaller guy to snap out of his hibernation? I left the heat lamp and UVA/UBV lamp on for a week but turned it off since he rarely ever burrowed out of the cypress mulch to bask. Any thoughts on getting them on the same page?


Carcharios

 

[MIKE-ZILLA]

If he's wild caught from south america he may be trying to hibernate. The seasons in the southern hemisphere are different than ours(pretty much opposite i think) so his "internal clock" is telling him to rest. If im right about thiS he may become more active this fall and winter, so he will need to be kept in a cage with appropriate heating.