Reptile & Amphibian Forums

i live in south Fl. im inheriting a Argentine BW tegu in a few mounths or so. i wanna keep it outside. but i here the hibernate for a LOOONG time, how long exactly? and can u take em outta there burrows and handle them?
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1 Blue Tongue Skink
1 Savannah Monitor

Honestly, their brumation (hibernation, if you will) period depends on the individual tegu. There is no literature value that you can look up, although Im sure there is an average somewhere. My tegu's average brumation period was two months, although one year he went in for about 2 1/2 weeks and that was it. Waking them out of brumation is NOT recommended, and can stress them out a lot. Waking them up to HANDLE them is HIGHLY not recommended, as that will increase the stress dramatically. Make sure the cage you build outside is strong and sturdy, and that the tegu has a good temp gradient. Good luck!

David
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David and Kevin

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arg. b/w tegus can hibernate from around august/september/october to march/april. it all depends on the individual. DO NOT take it out of its burrow even it is not hibernating and is just sleeping. it makes them feel insecure and in a way break its spirit...it can feel as if it's vulnerable. he/she can also lose its trust with you. tegus burrow quite deep so if you plan on doing an outdoor enclosure with no floor and just grass then the sides have to be embedded in the soil a couple feet. make sure you put a shady area and have water for soaking if he/she wants to soak.

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1.0.0 arg. b/w tegu
1.1.0 white's tree frog- popeye, jack
0.1.0 southern painted turtle- ms.tortle
0.1.0 crested gecko- crimson
1.0.0 pinto hedgehog- dante