Reptile & Amphibian Forums

hi...

the temps dropped this past week, and even though i got a thermostat and a higher wattaged bulb, the day temps were lower than normal... i think my leo started brumation because she's lazier than ever... she doesn't even want to eat - kinda just stares at the mealworms... and then she walks to the other side of the tank, lies down, and sleeps.

on sunday night, she ate 15 mealworms and 1 wax worm. on monday, she ate 6 mealworms... on tuesday she shed, but ate 2 mealworms and a pupated mealworm (alien). today, she avoided the food and just went back to sleep. this past week, she's been lazier and more tired than she usually is - so i'm thinking that she has started her brumation. i don't want her to get thin! is there anyway i can get her to stop brumation and eat more foods? i just got back from petsmart and i got higher wattaged bulbs for day and night.

usual day temp: 88F average
usual night temp: 84F average

this past week's day temp: 82F - 84F
this past week's night temp: 80F

day bulb: i had a 75w bulb ---> today, i bought a 100w bulb and will test it out 2morrow.
night bulb: i had a 60w bulb ---> today, i bought a 75w bulb in case we don't use our heaters.

UTH is always on. thermostat set at high.

any help is appreciated! thanks...

[aimEe]
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0.1.0 Albino Leopard Gecko (Marlene)
0.0.2 Fire Bellied Toads (Norman & Forman)
0.2.0 African Dwarf Frogs (Hobo & Bobo)
1.0.0 Fighting Fish (Blue Balls)
0.0.2 Hermit Crabs (Kirby & Furby)
1.0.0 Black Lab / Pit Bull (Mikey)
aimee.i8.com

I've got the same thing going on. Mine's eating half what she was eating 2 weeks ago before the temps dropped, and seems to be in some sort of hibernation. Usually she'll come out shortly after the light over her tank goes off and look for dinner. This past week she's just stayed in her hiding place and will eat a little bit of food later at night while I'm asleep. She's still pooping normally and everything, she's just sleeping a lot...

I've kept the tank temps right around normal, but my idiot new roommate turned the thermostat down the day he moved in and when I came home her tank was well below normal, and had been that way for a few hours. She was still warm and napping in her hot hide, but that day seemed to trigger this 'brumation', or whatever it is.

Is there anything that can be done to get the leo out of this? Would regular schedule of daily handling for a short period of time make the leo realize it's not time to hibernate, or would that just add stress?

>>hi...
>>
>> the temps dropped this past week, and even though i got a thermostat and a higher wattaged bulb, the day temps were lower than normal... i think my leo started brumation because she's lazier than ever... she doesn't even want to eat - kinda just stares at the mealworms... and then she walks to the other side of the tank, lies down, and sleeps.
>>
>> on sunday night, she ate 15 mealworms and 1 wax worm. on monday, she ate 6 mealworms... on tuesday she shed, but ate 2 mealworms and a pupated mealworm (alien). today, she avoided the food and just went back to sleep. this past week, she's been lazier and more tired than she usually is - so i'm thinking that she has started her brumation. i don't want her to get thin! is there anyway i can get her to stop brumation and eat more foods? i just got back from petsmart and i got higher wattaged bulbs for day and night.
>>
>>usual day temp: 88F average
>>usual night temp: 84F average
>>
>>this past week's day temp: 82F - 84F
>>this past week's night temp: 80F
>>
>>day bulb: i had a 75w bulb ---> today, i bought a 100w bulb and will test it out 2morrow.
>>night bulb: i had a 60w bulb ---> today, i bought a 75w bulb in case we don't use our heaters.
>>
>>UTH is always on. thermostat set at high.
>>
>>any help is appreciated! thanks...
>>
>>[aimEe]
>>-----
>>0.1.0 Albino Leopard Gecko (Marlene)
>>0.0.2 Fire Bellied Toads (Norman & Forman)
>>0.2.0 African Dwarf Frogs (Hobo & Bobo)
>>1.0.0 Fighting Fish (Blue Balls)
>>0.0.2 Hermit Crabs (Kirby & Furby)
>>1.0.0 Black Lab / Pit Bull (Mikey)
>>aimee.i8.com
-----
Blaine

0.0.1 High Yellow Juvenile Leo (Echo)

i don't think handling will help us i tried it last night... but my leo just licked me a few times and then put her head down and closed her eyes. i took out my hand and then put it back, because that's when she'll finally give in and climb up, but she just turned around and went back to sleep. i think if i picked her up while she was sleeping, it would have added more stress to the little girl. the thing is, if it's night time, she'll just straight sleep on top of her humid hide. and then, once it's 8am, she'll go to the inside of either hide... and then come back out to sleep.

i just hope that by raising the temps, i can get her out of brumation faster than she would normally stay in it. but, if i can't do anything about it - then i just have to let her be until she's back to her active self again

any help for myself & leobeginner would be GREAT!
thanks

[aimEe]
-----
0.1.0 Albino Leopard Gecko (Marlene)
0.0.2 Fire Bellied Toads (Norman & Forman)
0.2.0 African Dwarf Frogs (Hobo & Bobo)
1.0.0 Fighting Fish (Blue Balls)
0.0.2 Hermit Crabs (Kirby & Furby)
1.0.0 Black Lab / Pit Bull (Mikey)
aimee.i8.com

I would say it really depends on the gecko. It's getting colder and pretty much winter time where i'm from( Michigan ) and that's when some of my geckos like to sleep more than anything. 2 of them aren't affected by the change in weather but the rest seem to be. I just try to feed them daily if they eat, they eat, otherwise i try not to bother them with handling and such unless they're out and show the desire to come out. I've had a few of mine for a few years now and it just comes to be this way because of temp change. Even if their temps inside their cage stay the same, somehow they still seem to go into hibernation. I wouldn't be too worried about it unless they're losing weight or look sickly. Hope I helped.
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GeckoFire-Dale
Proud owner of 2.3.1
Questions? Drop me a line

my leo shed and has only eaten a couple mealies since then... she doesn't show much of a significant weight change. an hour ago, i was in my room getting ready for school when i saw her standing on all fours staring at me. i put my hand in and she walked up - i was pretty amazed coz this is the 1st time i've seen her out during the day time - she usually likes 2 sleep and just come out at night. she was walking all over me for about 15 minutes before i put her down on my bed to see if she'd eat. she was walking and exploring and took no interest to the mealies wriggling around in the dish. i put her back in her tank and she walked around for a few minutes before going into the cool hide and sleeping. it's the most i've seen her active since sunday night!

but i won't try to bug her until i see her as active as she used to be... maybe sticking my hand in a couple times because she's accustomed to it - and also refilling water and food

thanks dale!

[aimEe]

>>I would say it really depends on the gecko. It's getting colder and pretty much winter time where i'm from( Michigan ) and that's when some of my geckos like to sleep more than anything. 2 of them aren't affected by the change in weather but the rest seem to be. I just try to feed them daily if they eat, they eat, otherwise i try not to bother them with handling and such unless they're out and show the desire to come out. I've had a few of mine for a few years now and it just comes to be this way because of temp change. Even if their temps inside their cage stay the same, somehow they still seem to go into hibernation. I wouldn't be too worried about it unless they're losing weight or look sickly. Hope I helped.
>>-----
>>GeckoFire-Dale
>>Proud owner of 2.3.1
>>Questions? Drop me a line
-----
0.1.0 Albino Leopard Gecko (Marlene)
0.0.2 Fire Bellied Toads (Norman & Forman)
0.2.0 African Dwarf Frogs (Hobo & Bobo)
1.0.0 Fighting Fish (Blue Balls)
0.0.2 Hermit Crabs (Kirby & Furby)
1.0.0 Black Lab / Pit Bull (Mikey)
aimee.i8.com