how do i know if my tegu is goin into hibernation?

[joelgriz8124]

hey everyone i was just wondering if my tegu is goin to hibernate. charlie is not out all day and it seems every time i come in my room he is burrowed? i put my food in his cage before work (before his lights come one) and when i come home from work he has eaten some of it but is never above the mulch.hes not very old hes about 17 " longbut dont know his exact age. (got him from a reptile expo in new hampsure) i take him out every day to hold him,just so i dont have a crazy vicious tegu on my hands.if he is hibernating should i still handle him? is he too small to hibernate? i have a lot of questions so im getting all mixed up here lol so any advice will be greatly appreciated thanx guys

his vivs kept at 105 in his baskin spot and about 75-80 in his cool spot. his humidity is at about 70-90 % throughout the day thanks

[Herpgirl]

I am pretty new but I believe they can start to hibernate in august/sept.I also have a baby tegu he is 15 inches long he spends alot of time burrowed. I was told when they are young they do this alotit maes them feel secure that the older they gt the more they wil be ot. Whatkind of enclosure do you have? What are your secrets to such high humidity I live in mass to but I can't kep it aove 50 for very long.

[laurarfl]

It isn't time for tegus to be going down for hibernation, and most have woken up by now. Is he new? I'd get his basking temps up to 115. Does he have a UVB and is he getting enough calcium supplementation? Low calcium can make him lethargic. I don't know what time you get home, but are you missing his awake hours? Most of my Argentines are up from 9-10 until 5-6, even the yearling.

[joelgriz8124]

I am pretty new but I believe they can start to hibernate in august/sept.I also have a baby tegu he is 15 inches long he spends alot of time burrowed. I was told when they are young they do this alotit maes them feel secure that the older they gt the more they wil be ot. Whatkind of enclosure do you have? What are your secrets to such high humidity I live in mass to but I can't kep it aove 50 for very long.

I have a humidifier in his tank that goes off periodically throughout the day. What part of mass? U said u got ur tegu at zoocreatures right

[joelgriz8124]

It isn't time for tegus to be going down for hibernation, and most have woken up by now. Is he new? I'd get his basking temps up to 115. Does he have a UVB and is he getting enough calcium supplementation? Low calcium can make him lethargic. I don't know what time you get home, but are you missing his awake hours? Most of my Argentines are up from 9-10 until 5-6, even the yearling.

http://www.thetegu.com/showthread.ph...action&p=77625. Take a look at my set up the 4ft tube light in the back is his uvbi forget what brand it is , but its a 10.0 . I also dust any food he gets that doesn't have bones. That uvb should be perfectly fine right or is it too far away from him. And ya he is knew I've had him for about 2 and a half weeks. His weight has stayed the same no loss, but no gain.

[Rhetoric90]

Do you know when he hatched? If he didn't hatch during the summer you might have one that is from the S. Hemisphere. Which means his seasons will be opposite, if thats the case he could very well be going into brumation.
As laurarfl said, I would make sure the basking temps are up. If its too cold that can be another reason why hes not as active.
Is he pooping regularly? If hes not eating as much he won't be pooping as much but do they appear to be normal bowel movements?

I never disturb my tegus when they are sleeping, I don't want them to lose their sense of safety in their burrows. If you see him out and about for short periods of time its fine to take him out and handle him.



Edit: Sorry, I re-read the post and saw you don't know the exact age. Do you know of a rough estimate?

[HernandosMom]

Now I see the florescent tube. I think it's too high. Those tubes need to be something like a foot away to deliver a good dose of UVB. For your setup I think a mercury vapor UVB bulb would be much better. It will also help bring the heat up in the basking zone. Our boy did not slow down a bit his first year and has never gone into deep brumation, just a seasonal slowdown, so I'm no expert there. But I don't think yours is hibernating, just shy.

[Herpgirl]

Yes I got mine at zoo creatures is this where you got yours? Mine is never out and barely eats but he seemsfine. The told me it was normal for young tegus to stay buried but i am worrying.

[Herpgirl]

Also is the ehad on yours still green. Someone mentioned maybe it was born in the s. hemisphere although I was told he was captive bred.

[laurarfl]

If the head is green, he sounds pretty young. Now, I did have a tegu that kept a greenish head for almost a year. Then I had some hatchlings that lost the green pretty quickly. As for the captive bred, that has a lot of meanings. It could mean that the tegus were ranched then imported, that the eggs were collected and hatched in captivity, or that someone lied to the pet store.

Also, a foot and a half tegu is a pretty big baby. It very well could be left over from last year. I would increase heat and see what happens. I don't like to uincover my tegus, but I will entice them to come out of their hides with something going on in the other end of the enclosure. Also, I prefer tube flourescents to be about 8" from the basking spot.