Under the advice of the vet, I'm attempting to keep my rescue tegu, Ember, from hibernating. It's not going so well. She's back to refusing food, refusing water, and all she wants to do is burrow and sleep.
So...how do I keep her awake? The vet tells me that Ember is in far too rough shape, body wise, to survive hibernation...she'd go to sleep and never wake up. She's got no fat, no reserves, she's still skin and bones. She ate for about a week, but now I'm back to having to force her to eat with a syringe to keep any form of food in her, and it's making me a little crazy.
I don't want to remove her burrowing material, because that would just be a miserable life for her, but I don't want her refusing to eat or wake up either. I know it's the natural desire to hibernate, but if the vet says she cannot survive it...then how do I keep it from happening?
So...how do I keep her awake? The vet tells me that Ember is in far too rough shape, body wise, to survive hibernation...she'd go to sleep and never wake up. She's got no fat, no reserves, she's still skin and bones. She ate for about a week, but now I'm back to having to force her to eat with a syringe to keep any form of food in her, and it's making me a little crazy.
I don't want to remove her burrowing material, because that would just be a miserable life for her, but I don't want her refusing to eat or wake up either. I know it's the natural desire to hibernate, but if the vet says she cannot survive it...then how do I keep it from happening?