Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I have a couple young DVL mutts and an adult redback that i dont want to screw up on this winter. i know many of you probably hibernate your chucks which sounds like a nice idea to take a break from them for a while but i dont wanna lose any and to be honest have never even attempted hibernating reptiles before as ive typically raised tropical animals. does anyone experience problems with keeping their chucks awake all winter?? i have noticed mine have slowed down considerably but they still come out of the rocks since i turn the lights/heat on every morning. it just seems now they will only stay awake for maybe 3-5 hours before going back into hiding. what should i do?? thanks
-Brad

If they will continue to eat I see no problem. I would suspect the ones from my pen might slow down & quit eating no matter what the cage temps are. If this happens--- hold food back for 2 weeks while keeping temps hot. This will give em a while to "clean it all out" !! Then lower temps & lighting. Put low power lights on a timer to duplicate the short day/ long nites of winter. They will still move around some when its cooler but their activity will not demand much energy.
That is a short over view of brumation---- but--I have never even done it myself!! Mine are always outside so what happens happens.
Search the archives of the old forums----- there should be a wealth of info from years past that is tucked away but still there.
How are they all doing now??

David

I have had a chuck, and Desert Iguanas in the past, but now I have all Desert Iguanas. I do want to get a baby chuck. While living in AZ I had a DI for 16 years and I let him sleep the winter if he wanted to. It was cool enough in the house to just let him sleep. On warmer days he would come out to eat something. The Di's I have now are slowing down. I will probably let them sleep this winter if they want to, as long as they come out I will feed them when they want fed! Last year they never slept, I kept lights on them. I live in FL so it don't get as cold as AZ. I won't force my lizards to hibernate. Chucks are pretty much like DI's in their requirements! Good luck with your chuck! Bill.