There's an article at thetegu.com that addresses this issue a little more in depth. I believe it's on the forums under General Care. I don't have to do anything to my tegus or my Beardies to get them to sleep. It's usually a natural thing. I'm in Central FL and sometimes the temp plays tricks on us (it was 80 yesterday), but it's more a matter of photoperiod and circadian rhythm.



As a part of my herp care, I set my lights on timers. Everyone gets 14 hours in the summer and 10 in the winter. We have a lot of windows, so they still see the natural light. My largest tegu lives in the garage so she really sees the natural light in addition to her lamps. They take the cue from the shorter days and cooler temps and gradually start eating less, then stop altogether, then bury down and sleep. I turn the lights off my tegus completely at this point. My big B/W went down at the end of Sept. She popped out on some warm days in Oct and Nov, but she's out now even on the 80 degree days in Dec. My baby B/W didn't go to sleep until Thanksgiving and I haven't seen him since. I have a Colombian who usually doesn't hibernate, but she's been hiding a lot lately, too.



So, I would suggest cutting back on your lights if you haven't already. I would still offer them food if they are hungry. Mine got to the point where they just walked by food and licked it, but wouldn't eat. As you know, that's pretty rare for a tegu! That's when I knew for sure they were ready to sleep. If they are eating, don't drop the temps as they need the heat to digest the food.

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