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RainbowParty
02-11-2006, 03:07 PM
I've made 2 or 3 similar posts before, but nothing has changed so I keep coming back.

I got King Koopa back in October. I live in Ontario, Canada so shortly after I got him he went into hibernation mode. He generally comes out about 7am and will go back underground by around 9am. My main concern is the fact that I havn't actually seen him eat in well over a month, and he hasn't pood in over a week.. close to two. I offer him a variety of food (crix; superworms; turkey with egg, apple, and lettuce; and hoppers) He has never eaten the turkey, but on occasion I've seen him eat crickets and superworms. He use to eat mice and rats whenever I offered them to him, but that was for the few weeks before he started hibernating.

My temps are 110-115 basking, 80-85 ambient, with around 50% humidity. The enclosure is 4x1.5x1.5 with cypress mulch, a basking rock (just a regular big flat rock) and a hide box. I also have a 4' UV strip with 5.0 bulb. I'm pretty sure everything is as it should be.

Is Koopa's behaviour normal? I've been worrying about it for a few months, but it was just recently that he stopped going to the bathroom. I don't know what I'm doing wrong, or what I can do better. Help?

Teiidae
02-11-2006, 05:13 PM
I think Tupinambis once defined Brumation as "Hibernation independant of temperature" Quite possibly this is what's going on here and nothing is wrong - Not wanting to eat, therefore not having to poop, would make sense - Maybe this "state" while not as deep due to the Tegu not being cooled down, and the heat staying up is bringing him out on a limited basis...

Gonna move this to normal discussion

tupinambis
02-11-2006, 09:18 PM
Frankly, you shouldn't be feeding your tegus when they're hibernating, whether they are cold or not. Their metabolism slows down and they can't properly digest the food before it starts rotting in their stomach, which if not caught early enough, can lead to death. I've seen this many times, and if you don't care to believe me, you might like to read this post:
http://forums.kingsnake.com/view.php?id=1003361,1003361

Even when fully active, tegus can go weeks without food, so you shouldn't feel guilty about not feeding them during hibernation, they will not be starving.

RainbowParty
02-12-2006, 01:43 AM
Do you guys have any idea when he'll be coming out of brumation? As in, when should I start offering him food again? And is it normal for them not to grow or shed during this state, because he hasn't done either. Thanks for your help.. it's definitely reassuring.

RainbowParty
02-12-2006, 01:51 AM
I forgot one more thing... Should I change my temps until he becomes more active? Or should I leave it the way it has been all winter..

tupinambis
02-12-2006, 03:36 AM
I doubt you have the means to make the tegu that cold, most people simply don't. In the wild, tegus will come out of their own accord and get active. As for captive animals, I'd simply shut off all heat and light sources (why waste your UV bulbs) for a period of 2 or 3 months, and then start warming it up again. When activity resumes, I'll pretty much guarantee that tegu's appetite will be big :D .
They don't grow during hibernation, and whereas they often seem to shed heavily in the early period of hibernation, afterwards you rarely see anything until they come out of it.

RainbowParty
02-12-2006, 04:02 PM
so I should shut the lights off now and leave them off until... march?

Diegar
02-12-2006, 05:12 PM
i suggest leaving the lights on and stop feeding him for a while first, so he can pass what all is inside him first..

jb
02-12-2006, 05:18 PM
if the room has a window, he will have some sense of circadian (day and night) timing....if it is a dark room, i would put just a 60W bulb on a timer that goes on for 8 hours and off for 16 until the days start getting longer, like early march. that's what i do- i use the 60W and have alot of windows. they brumate,etc according to outside light alot of times, no matter what temps or lighting cycle you have on cages. That has been my experience with all 13 of my lizards of different species. The only one who is always active and awake is my veiled chameleon. the tegu, beardies, desert iguanas, uromastyx, and 4 monitors all brumate to a degree.... and i dont cool any of them except for the female argus for breeding.