I think Archie is finally waking up, and I have a few ?'s.

[Niexist]

Hey all my argentine black and white archie is finally waking up after about five months of hibernation, so far I've had his light back on him for 4 days, and he seems to be moving around well, and drinking a lot of water which is good.

I'm wondering how long it takes until he'll get back to his regular eating habbits. I called a reptile specialty store and they said two weeks is a normal time for them to not want to eat for, is this true?

I forgot how much fun it was having him awake actually, all he ever wants to do is cuddle, and sleep. :roll:

Anyway this is only about my first year of having him I bought him fully grown and I have never been through this hibernation or brumation(whatever it is called) so any input/resources for new owners on this subject would be greatly appreciated!

 

[lazyjr52]

Each gu is different. But 2 weeks is normal. Just keep the light on and try to feed him when he's out. He'll eat when he is ready. A warm bath might be helpful as well.

 

[Toby_H]

My female Arg B&W and I have been through 2 hibernations/winters together and each one has been an opposite extreme of the otherÃ?¢ââ??¬Ã?¦


Her first winter she slept from November until April without coming out once. Once the outdoor overnight temps stopped dipping below the mid to low 50s, I put her cage on the porch (in sunny North Carolina). She began coming out and enjoying the natural sunrays of the 70+ degree afternoons, but wasnÃ?¢ââ??‰â??¢t at all interested in food for the first 2 weeks.

Then she ate very little and still slept a lot, moving around but by no means being fully active for another few weeks. It was probably 6 weeks from the time she first poked her head out until she was full blown active. Then she started an incredible growth spurt and amazed me at how quickly she grew both in length and girthÃ?¢ââ??¬Ã?¦


This year around early December she started not getting up every day and eating less when she was up. By the middle of the month she was in hibernation making short appearances about once a week. I did not offer food during this time.

This only lasted about 5~6 weeks at which time she started getting up most days and basking in her UVB light when it was on. After several days I offered her food and she eager ate it. So I offered a little more and she eagerly ate it. So I offered her a little more and she eagerly ate it. So I offered herÃ?¢ââ??¬Ã?¦ you see where IÃ?¢ââ??‰â??¢m going with this. She ate 1/3 of a lb of (hairless) mice and ground Turkey in 3 days.

SheÃ?¢ââ??‰â??¢s been fully active eating full meals about 5 days a week ever since.


My advice is to let yours wake up at itÃ?¢ââ??‰â??¢s own pace. When it comes out and suns itself it is likely just coming out to sun itself. When it starts roaming, exploring or pacing the cage it is looking for food and should then be fed.

 

[HorseCaak]

It took mine about a week and a half. The first time she came out, she had a big drink of water and crawled around. It's 3 weeks later and she is eating almost everyday (some days i offer different foods and she's picky and won't eat) and she is basking for 8 hours, give or take. This was my first hibernation too. She was down for 5 months.

-BLAIR