Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hi my chuckwalla's will not hibernate!I've stopped there food for 9 days, and I dropped down in temperature.They seem normal and I don't want to not feed them and have them die!So please help, should I continue, what am I doing wrong.Thank you, all help is appreciated.

What have your temps dropped to? What else can you tell us about the situation they are in? Light cycle?; are they in their cage, or in containers?; if in cage, is it indoor or outdoor? Do they still apear to have good weight?

Austin and I cool ours in containers, so we can control the conditions. They are kept in a cool dark spot, and usually stay prety inactive for the duration. If the temps are getting too warm, or if the chucks are being exposed to light during the day, they may become more active.

Hope this helps. Let us know what your situation is.
Nick & Austin

Hey Skylar, here in AZ you probably can put them by an open window at night since it gets in the 50s.I dont know. Look on the collared lizard forum. Theres a nnew thing on it about hibernation.

Its the title that says: Help?WillWells

LOL! That is mine.

I am keeping mine at or below 55 degrees in a cooler with the drain plug open. On cold days when the temps stay in the 60s, I only need one ice pack all day, but when the temps creep into the 70s, I have to watch it pretty closely. I check my lizards every few days, and I notice that if the temps approach 60, they wake up but are in a stupor. They stay good and asleep as long as the temps stay at or below 55.

Donna, like I told ya in brumation reptiles can be seen moving around/ or sitting with eyes open, but thats okay. They will sleep as well.
Worry only if they are extremely active, or look as though they are losing weight or sickly.

Chucks in the wild , mostly little/ youngsters can be seen out basking in the winter months on a nice sunny day, for short peroids of time.
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PHEve / Eve

I'm always surprised that most chuckwalla owners induce hibernation/brumation for their chucks. I never have, and have quite a few chucks, and have had decent luck with them. Reading about the fact that they're supposed to have a cool-down interval, while mine don't, always gives me that deer-in-the-headlights feeling, like I'm really messing them up and should keep my schlock habits to myself. But I'm wondering something and hope someone will know the answer to my question.

My chucks live a LONG time, do their push-ups, produce normal hatchlings, are friendly, and SEEM to be content and just fine. The worst problem I've had is occasional egg-binding. Over something like 15 years, I've lost two gravid females plus one had a hysterectomy to remove a stuck egg. She's done great and will probably live to be an old lady, though she won't be having more babies.

The question is, is egg-binding perhaps at least partially due to the lack of brumation? I'd sure love to know if any relationship exists between the two issues. Does anyone know?

I have always induced brumation, and had luck that way. I think if something is working for you, stick with it. There is usually no reason to deviate from a successful method. Do your cage temps and photoperiod change at all in winter? I was always told that the lower temps durring brumation favored good sperm production.
As far as egg binding, I think it may have more to do with fertilization. Austin and I have had females produce good clutches without being cooled, though the male was. We have also seen females go egg bound. Once when the male seemed to ignore a particular female all breeding season, and copulation was never witnessed, the female died egg bound. A friend had a young virgin female begin to develop eggs suddenly, without ever being cooled, but unfortunately by the time he noticed that she was developing eggs, it was too late for fertilization. We loaned him a male to try to get the job done, but it was too late, and she died about a week or two later from egg binding.

Nick

Isn't egg binding more related to calcium deficiency as it is in birds? That is definitely the cause in birds that become egg bound. The egg doesn't form properly or doesn't harden up properly from a lack of calcium and it is harder to impossible for them to pass. Could your friend's chuck have been calcium deficient since he didn't know she was gravid?

I think there are a lot of factors that could cause a chuck to become egg bound. In the two cases that I talked about, one common theme was that neither female was fertilized. In both cases, I would have to say that calcium deficiency was unlikely. Is it possible that infertile eggs are more likely to become over or under calcified, resulting in a higher risk of egg binding?

Wow! This theory blows me away! Never thought egg-binding would have anything to do with non-fertility of eggs, but what an interesting and distressing explanation. My chucks live together as compatibility allows. I never know who's mating and who's not or which eggs might be fertile and which aren't. I have three gravid girls right now. How awful to think they might be in trouble already, just b/c they may be carrying infertile eggs. For awhile I thought the stress of group living might be a cause of egg-binding, though MANY clutches have been laid in a crowded situation. One of the two girls I lost passed after a pregnancy spent in private quarters. Pretty frustrating. What a huge relief it is when I look in a cage and find a skinny, thirsty female who's again successfully deposited her eggs.

There you are, Sue! Hello!! In the past, I have had one female die egg-bound. She was wild caught, so I would think probably OK on the calcuim. As you know, I also had a female that got a hysterectomy. She is doing fine, but the ovaries remained as they were too close to the vena cava to be removed (too risky). I was told to watch her at mating time, and I am supposing that that meant that eggs might form with no uterus in which to contain them. That scares me! Anybody else ever had this problem?

Oh! Forgot to address the topic of hibernation/brumation. Like Sue, I don't hibernate my Chucks, and they live a long time and breed. Long before I ever knew this forum...maybe 12 years ago?...I went to Europe and left my Chucks in a basket under my bed for 2 1/2 months. When I came back, they were snoozing away. I don't know if they ever woke up or not, but they were totally healthy. I guess I was lucky. Ignorance is bliss. LOL