Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Every year I artificially cool my lizards down during hibernation(brumation) by putting them in a cooler and keeping the temps in the 50's for about 2 months. It's a real pain. Last year I didn't cool down my C. nebrius trio because I really didn't want more hatchlings from them but they bred anyway. I also had a dickersonae pair that were young so I didn't cool them down and they ended up mating and I got 3 clutches but only one egg made it.

This year I decided not to put any lizards in the cooler. If they dug under their rocks in the cage and went to sleep on their own, I left them there but if they came out, I fed them.
I witnessed my C. nebrius pair mating yesterday and they didn't go under all winter. It will be interesting to see if any of the others that stayed up all winter will reproduce. My vestigium and various collaris stayed up but all my dickersonae went under and are still under.

I did reduce the light cycles during November and December. I have since increased the light cycles and heat. I would be nice to do a study to see if there was a better hatch rate when the lizards were artificially cooled vs not cooled. Oh well, we'll see what happens.

Many times I have not brumated collareds. Zuni has never been brumated, and each year he is a sexual maniac. Actually so sexually agressive he has hurt a couple females. I have not even been breeding him because of it. I can't imagine how he would be if brumated, ashame as he has awesome color, but gets down right uncontrollably MEAN.

Also I always allowed my vestigium (The parents) to brumate right in their tank and they did well. But this year I put alot of my collareds, flames, yellowheads, and the vestigium in my dining room (in the mid 60's) in a rubbermaid tub. The vestigium, the male did not do well and seemed to lose weight, maybe just stress of not being in his own territory. Everyone else is fine and sleeping even in these (higher temps)

I have since moved the vesties back in their tank and they are fine.

I have alot that stayed up also in their tanks, we will have to compare and see the results as you said.
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PHEve / Eve

Contact PHEve

I was in a moving transition from one home to another, and I think I put mine to sleep just after Thanksgiving. They stayed in their tank. This new house has a walk-out basement, so one entire side is exposed to the weather. This new basement stays around 60. My lizards are very cool to the touch and barely move around at all. I woke them up for a few minutes a couple weeks ago and manually gave them a small amount of water.

I hope they breed, being they are my only pair left. Eve's persuasion skills are second to none!

J

you are full of it, you BEGGED me to take some of your lizards, he pays monthly for boarding, hahahahhaa LOL

** Said it was HIM, or the lizards, I of course picked the lizards

Hhahahahaa, your a Dinglesnort for sure!
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PHEve / Eve

Contact PHEve

I hibernated mine at room temp. It was dark except for some other tank lights. They came out and got drinks on their own. I've seen them breeding and the eggs seem okay. I always thought they would lose more wieght than they did.

Morgan

Will-I have observed over the years that lizards will come out and bask on warm days from time to time. Young seem more commonly out on warm days than adults, but having observed differing species over the years, I am convinced that it is not the cold temp, but the prolonged cooler temps, and as many of our lizards live in temps in the hundreds, 60 is cool for them. Both of my SOlare HOrned Lizards have come up for air and are intermitently coming out to bask, I have a shorter photo period and the temps are varying from the 55 to 70 degree range depending on how warm it gets here in Texas. I feel the moderate brumination techniques will produce babies the following year. In very cold years many of our lizards hibernate due to the cold and don't come out, but being opportunisic I think they respond to the temps.........it will be intersting to see how some of the lizards do this spring........Cheers!!
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Phrynosoma.com

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signature file edited. [phw 11/14/04]

Will, good to hear your collareds are breeding, any action from Dickersonae yet? It seems with all my herps that I cannot fool them with lights or temps that much, they know what the deal is no matter what I try and simulate. I really belive barametric pressure plays a large role in the breeding cycle of herps. I know when I use to keep green tree monitors that when we would have tornado warnings here in Ohio in the spring and fall is when the male use to stalk the female and try and copulate? I dont know if he wanted one more good time before that twister hit my house or what LOL but I would assume the low pressure front played a big role in that. Same thing with my Rio Fuerte beaded lizards, I can tell you what day and what time they will be copulating just by calendar date which for them always falls on memorial day weekend every year since 1998 it has worked that way, it never mattered when I cooled them and when I warmed them back up. I do know my pilbara desert rock monitors go dormant if the cage gets to dry inside. Add water and heat and pound them with food and they copulate regardless of the time of year. I know from being in the middle east that during the summer when temps hit 140F in Abu Dhabi the local fauna is nowhere to be found even at night it seems, come november 1 its like someone turned on a switch, you start to hear birds every morning, see insects all over and the reptiles come out. I forget the word for it but it is like everything hibernates when it gets to hot out and their breeding season occurs in the winter when temps are lower. Anyway that seems to be my experiance with all my critters, and here is a pic of one of my beaded hatchlings, I know Eve is just dying to hold one LOL
Enjoy, Bob Sutton

Thanks for the all the input on this subject. I have a few lizards that have mated already and the females are gravid.
My dickersonae are just waking up so it shouldn't be long before they mate. It just takes forever to sex the hatchlings.