When I kept my ater chucks and large hispidus chucks I was in Southern California >10 years ago. I brumated the chucks (and several other southwestern native species) outside and don't recall losing any chucks during the winters. The ater chucks bred successfully. I kept the hispidus for less than a year and although tame they never thrived the way the ater thrived. In fact with the hispidus I never witnessed any breeding activity. Oddly, the female hispidus was considerably larger (size and length) than the male. The male hispidus never showed any agressive actions (even to other male chucks) while I kept him. I did not attempt to hibernate the hispidus.



Over the last year I have restarted my collection (now in NV) and have a couple of hispidus juveniles, which are thriving in their 8' x 8' outdoor enclosure. I plan on hibernating them without any extra measures. It does get colder in the winter here and that is a concern. In the past it seemed the key was to exclude all food for at least a week or two before hibernation.

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