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Thread: You Make The Call !!!!!

  1. #1
    Join Date
    Sep 2006
    Location
    NYC
    Posts
    214

    Default You Make The Call !!!!!

    Ok! This is my situation, I've had my tegu now for six months. I got her in september, not to far off from hibernating season. I began letting her hibernate, but i was leaving the lights on and keeping the temps at the same rate as they were before she began hibernating! So she would wake up every now and then, to walk around drink water and go back to sleep! But as time went on she began to become more active, so i assumed she was coming back around, and began to feed again!!! No more then a week later she began to show signs of hibernating again!
    So with all the information that I learned on this site, i made sure that this time I would let her hibernate correctly. So I stopped feeding for about a week, and put her in a tup of warm water until she released what was in her gut! Immediately after this, I put her back in the tank, let her find a burrow spot, and turned off the lights for good!!!!
    Now after just reading the FAQ'S on agama international's site, there was a question about properly hibernating a tegu. The answer to the question was that some people hibernate there tegus incorrectly. For example this is the question from the site: "My tegu has slept in his hidebox/burrow for several days, can I put him in a box in the basement now?
    If your tegu has been hibernating for only a few days, it is premature to move them to their winter sleeping arrangements. They can go into hibernation and stay in hibernation for a week, and then come out and bask, and so off and on for the first 3-4 weeks. That seems quite normal. Unfortunately many indoors hibernators have been killed by putting them into hibernation at the first signs; what happened is that the poor animals are put in a box in the basement (as they started hibernating already) and decide to get up and warm up a week later since they have some left over food inside their digestive tract. They cannot warm up and so cannot get rid of it, and it rots and the animal dies 2-3 months after that. Make sure that your animal has access to water and a basking spot for at least the first 4 weeks after they start hibernating.
    Do tegus ever come outside during warm days while hibernating to sun themselves?
    In the fall, only. They can go in hibernation and stay in hibernation for a week, and then come out and bask, and so off and on for the first 3-4 weeks. That seems quite normal, and people got to know this, as many indoors hibernators are killed by putting them into hibernation at the first best signs; these poor animals are then put in a box in the basement (as they hibernate already) and decide to get up and warm up a week later as there is some left over food inside. They cannot warm up and so cannot get rid of it, and it rots and the animal dies 2-3 months after that.
    Now after reading this I'm paranoid about this hibernating situation. Did i prematurely put my tegu to sleep? Should I continue to leave the lights on? Or should I just say forget it and wake the tegu up, resume the regular regimen and try again next year? I mean its about to be february, about a month from her probably awaking anyway!! What should I do?? Help!!!!!!!!!
    " Never let them get to your pride, give them hell to the day you demise" -The Capo

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Sep 2006
    Location
    bronx, ny
    Posts
    483

    Default

    being that you keep the lights off and temps low when was the last time she came out of hiding ? when was the last time she ate ? how long has her lights been off now ?
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