Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I had a topic below about brumating, but i thought i'd post this up here so more ppl see. Is there anything i need to change while fluffy is brumating? Feed every day still, or every other day? anything like that?

thanks
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0.1 Pogona vitticeps Inland Bearded Dragon Puff the Magic Dragon Approx. DOB's 01/11/02.
1.0 Uromastyx malinensis Mali Uromastyx Fluffy 04/19/00.
0.1 Iguana iguana Green Iguana Taco 10/5/94.
0.1 Gekko gekko Tokay Gecko Brogan 12/14/01.
0.0.1 Oedura monilis Australian Velvet Gecko Danny 08/28/01.
0.1 Eublepharis macularius Leopard Gecko Jazmine 4/10/04.
0.0.1 Phelsuma standingi Standing's Day Gecko Emril 3/24/04.
1.0 Tabby Cat Sargon 08/08/89. Our real fluffy.

I say feed everyday but not as much as you used to, just in case fluffy decides to come out and eat.

Now's the time if you want to build a cage for fluffy to do so unless you are happy with her/his current enclosure. You could also pick out the poo in her/his cage.
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1.1 mali uro's-Ares and Apollo
1.saharan uro- Iris
1.2 bearded dragon-Hades and Draco
0.2 leo gecko-Kalypso
0.3 tokaye gecko-Sid Vicious
1.0 tarantula-Peter Parker
0.2 dog-cheeka
0.2 zebra finch-beeps
0.2 african gray parrot-keya
1.0 red headed parrot-pancho
0.3 Fish (sorry no names for them)

For questions, comments or updates email is: uromastyx101@yahoo.com

well from what i understand, during a full brumation, you would not need to feed your lizard anything because they will be too cold to digest it. you would need to slowly reduce their food intake and the amount of light that they have, eventually getting down to just UVB. they need to eat nothing for like 7 days before you switch to just UVB. while they were asleep you would have to make sure there is water and make sure he is not losing alot of weight. your uro would need to be 100% healthy before brumation because it does oddly take alot out of them
if your uro is acting lazy and you want to just let him be lazy, then i would recommend doing everything as you have been and then just let him come out when he wants
sorry it is not more detailed, i have never actually gone through with a brumation. in my opinion it is not something to be taken lightly
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vonnie
***There is no pleasure in having nothing to do; the fun is in having lots to do and not doing it. Mary Wilson Little ***

You can do a quick search on Google with the keywords "uromastyx brumation" and you will get several good sites. There's a ton of info here on Kingsnake in the care sheet section. Look at Deer Fern Farms as well - the info is a little hard to wade through because he specifies differences for each species, but it's good stuff. Is he sort of brumating himself or are you brumating him on purpose? That would change how I would handle it.

If you're doing a full intentional brumation (and since he's a Mali), definitely read up on it. I'm planning to winter all of mine this year now that Spike is healthy, but it's a little intimidating, as there is a risk of death. For a Mali in full brumation, he should not get any food at all - food rotting in the gut is often a cause of death. But please read up on it and decide for yourself how you want to handle it!
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Torey
Eugene, Oregon, USA
1.1 Uromastyx Geyri (Joe and Arthur)
2.0.1 Uromastyx Dispar Maliensis (Tank, Turtle, and new neighbor Spike)
1.2 Anolis Carolinensis (Bowser, Leeloo, and Sprocket)
1.1 African Dwarf Frogs (Bruce and Sheila)
1.0 Betta Splendens (Mr. Miagi)
1.1 Felis Domesticus (Roscolux and Jenny)
And several miscellaneous community fish

I hear ya, El Toro. I'm planning on doing a full brumation of my uros this year, and I have to admit that I'm a little nervous about it but if I want little uros in the summer, I have to. Ra is sleeping away most of the day now and has not eaten very much at all. I know this is normal because he did this last year too, only this time it's more intense.
Although, I've run into a bit of a snag with my plan. I may have to wait until either next week or the week after because Isis has finally started shedding the rest of her skin that was stuck since June (that's when I bought her). She's shedding in large patches and eating like a pig. I'd like her to finish up the bulk of her shed before I start cutting them both off of food to prepare for full brumation.
Can anybody tell me how long I have before I should start their wintering process? I don't want them to miss their brumation cycle and consequent mating season in the spring. Thanks all!

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1.1 Mali Uromastyx (Ra and Isis)

I've been reading dates anywhere from early November to mid-December. I had to stall mine, too, because of Spike's parasites. They're no longer there, but I wanted to give him a couple weeks to eat and gain a little more weight before shutting him down.

Deer Fern suggested cutting off food for Malis for two weeks before, and on that same week, dropping lights to 10 hrs per day, so until I stop feeding (Nov 22 is my chosen date), I've been creeping the light cycle down so it'll be 10 hrs by then. My other Malis are already not eating and sleeping all day. The Saharans are still up and about every day, but aren't eating. Spike's the only one active, and he's eating a lot less.

Good luck! I know I'll need all I can get.

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Torey
Eugene, Oregon, USA
1.1 Uromastyx Geyri (Joe and Arthur)
2.0.1 Uromastyx Dispar Maliensis (Tank, Turtle, and new neighbor Spike)
1.2 Anolis Carolinensis (Bowser, Leeloo, and Sprocket)
1.1 African Dwarf Frogs (Bruce and Sheila)
1.0 Betta Splendens (Mr. Miagi)
1.1 Felis Domesticus (Roscolux and Jenny)
And several miscellaneous community fish