Yes, my herd both aestivates and hibernates. Spring is a period of frantic activity, with fighting, breeding, feeding ravenously etc. all in a few months. My herd has had lower fetility since moving to the extreme desert, whether it is because of climate or just diorienting effects of moving I don't know. Aestivating-hibernating is normal for horsefieldii in many parts of their wide range. What you and I have may mimic normal wild behavior. However, others report good breeding succes without hibernating...so different things work. Sometimes I wonder if my wild caughts might be from distant locales, and they are not completely compatible? I get some breeding and fetile eggs, but not as much as I would expect or had in Nor-Cal. Where do you live? Vic H. Imperial Valley, low desert in So.Ca.

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