Reptile & Amphibian Forums

okay all you collared lizard breeders..........when are you all going to put your breeders down for the winter? i guess the next question is "do you all put them down or do you have good results not putting them through a brumation period"?
i have read both ways, but mostly i hear to put them down for at least 8 weeks. it's getting late now and i need to make the decision of whether to put them down or just back off lighting and heating for a while. any response would be helpful.
thanks all

Well I think many of us like to let nature do its work, its good I think to let them hibernate even if not every year, they were designed to sleep for 6 months of the year and as a result I think they will all benefit from it at some point for sure. However like me, others keep theirs awake through practicality, bearing in mind animals that are sickly, underweight, or who need a rest from egg laying might benefit more from being kept awake. Some folk keep their older animals up all year, as brumation is potentially something of a strain on them. Others dont want to breed or would like to reduce the risk of breeding, and others just dont believe its necessary. I dont think there is a right or wrong unless it comes to allowing an animal to hibernate when it is not physically fit or well enough to do so.

As for timescales, they do recommend 8 weeks, but I know someone said in an earlier post at some point that he (like me) always gets anxious and commits to 8 weeks, but often wakes them up sooner. If its for breeding purposes then 6 weeks was sufficient for all four of mine last year, and even the two that were not brumated still reproduced. My personal opinion on it all is that if they want to sleep and they are well enough to do so, and if you have the interest and the resource to manage the potential consequences of brumation that is egg laying (and assuming they are healthy and of good weight) then its good to let them rest for a while, instinct tells them to have a break, so thats what I do, but not until I know the weather is definitely not getting any warmer. Last year I put mine to bed when they slowed down in October, but the mild UK winter meant they were not sleeping and were losing weight so I turned the lights back on and tried again in December with better results.
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Kel

www.collaredlizards.co.uk

1:1:0 Common Collared Lizards
1:1:0 Auriceps
1:2:0 Desert Collared Lizards
0:1:0 New Mexico Collared Lizard

hey kel.......jim kendrick here........thanks for the reply. i understand where you're coming from. i have a huge problem with the weather here in st. louis, missouri. for some reason we will have winters with very little snow and lows maybe in the teens, but it will warm up during those days to the 40's. not bad!!!!
BUT!!!!!! we may have highs in the 40's to the 60's and then everything heats up in my house. i have no cool place in my new house and refuse to introduce my clan to the frig. i may just back off everything and see what the high 60's will do to them. they are kept in 78 to 105 degrees. so, maybe the 60's will be a nice cool down period for them.
again, i appreciate the reply and hope all is well in the good ole u.k.
take care kel

Hey Jim, have a look on Will Wells' site I dont know if I'm allowed to post a link here but you can go through my site or Eve's site and see how he brumates with a cool box, not as cold or as risky as a fridge !!
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Kel

www.collaredlizards.co.uk

1:1:0 Common Collared Lizards
1:1:0 Auriceps
1:2:0 Desert Collared Lizards
0:1:0 New Mexico Collared Lizard

hey kel......jim k here again.......i have bought from will and emailed back and forth many times. very knowledgeable young man and quite the photographer. i bought my favorite pair from will and hope to breed them this spring. yeah.......i saw a few pics of boxes and couldn't remember where i saw them. send me links if you will and i have eve's suncharmer site saved. i would like to see yours if i haven't already.
that would be terrific dear.
thanks for the help.

Hi everyone. I'm new to this. Mostly everything I know on keeping collareds and other lizards I've learned here and elsewhere online... thanks everyone! I've read on how risky fridges are. Something about it dries them out, and how unstable and unreliable the stats are on these fridges. I've also heard of using picnic coolers with icepaks, but that the only draw back is that you have to closely monitor the temp and make frequent icepak changes. I've already started to cool some of my lizards in a TE cooler I made. Has anyone tried using thermoelectric modules to cool their lizards? Does anyone know if there's any cons to this hibernation method? Also, is it "cool" that I started brumation early?