Reptile & Amphibian Forums

HI. My friend caught me a whiptail and it slowed down a lot this month. IT hardly ever came out. So i put her in a ten gallon with her favorite hiding place and a water dish in the crawl space with a bunch of sand in it. I just checked up on her today and she was out! Its pretty cool down there, so i thought she'd be in the hide. She was definitely slow, like when i put her in the ten gallon. I just want to know if thats okay or if her hibernation process is disturbed and something might go wrong. Does she even need to be in that cool of temperatures? it gets like in the 40's at lowest down there in winter, never more than 5 degree or so variance. This is my first time brumating, and i wish to do it with my amphibians too later on this winter. COuld you please help??? Sorry for the insanely long post.
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Paullywog

If it has scales or smooth wet skin... snatch it!!!

Than anything else. When brumating a reptile is still awake, still alert, many times they stick their heads out and watch but are a bit slowed down. Brumation is many times signaled by a drop in average temps, when our temperatures drop every year it sometimes takes us a while to notice differences in temps where as basking temps can drop 15 f or more and ambients can drop without us knowing. If they cannot properlt digest they cannot eat, therefore why waste the energy, so slow themselves down. Every year for now I have to adjust my cage temps on 3 cages from temp rise/drop. I know it dropped here in the last few weeks fast, from 60-70 down to 50-40.

Well yeah... i slowed her down by not feeding her and at the same time giving her basking area a lot lower temp(down to like 70 or 80 from 110). I hope she's ok. I think she'll be ok...i hope
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Paullywog

If it has scales or smooth wet skin... snatch it!!!

lizards, such as my adult bearded dragon who has already on his own, started to brumate.

They see the changes in the amount of light each day and the temps get cooler and they just (know). I also have alot of collareds that I will be breeding for spring, and they mostly will have to be brumated, in a prepared way by me.

Their food will have to be cut back, then completely stopped for about 10 days, and then heating/ basking light goes off. And then about a week or so later the uvb light goes out.

Then when coming out of brumation, you reverse, the uvb light comes on for about a week. Then the basking(heat) then you begin to feed as normal.

Some people put them into refrigerators at about 55 degrees for a few months. Of course checking often and making sure they are hydrated.

Only the most fit lizards should be brumated, that means no, babies, and no extremely thin or sickly animals.

Good luck with your whiptail, keep us updated on her
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Eve / PHEve

She stopped eating on her own. SO then i didnt feed her and i just turned off the basking light. then the uv light. then when she never came out i put her in the crawl space. Hope it works!!!
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Paullywog

If it has scales or smooth wet skin... snatch it!!!