brumating

[aggiegirl]

There are many new members to the forum and brumation is one of the things that seems the most foreign to those of us who are new to herps. So, to those of you with more experience, could you please describe to us newbies how you prepare your blueys for brumation.
Particular things that you might address would include timeframes for:
1) feeding--how you cease and resume (gradual/abrupt)
2) decreasing lighting/heating (Do you change bulbs or just the times on?)
What are your median temps during these times?
Also, if you use a brumation box or anything special, please let us know.
My older bluey didn't brumate last year but I want to plan to have him do it this year. Of course I live in Texas so who knows what he'll do.
Also, if you have cresties/toads/other herps, how do you handle them during the winter?
Thanks in advance! kathy

[Jenn]

1. My guys normally get their last feeding mid-late November (Thanksgiving a lot of time!) unless they stop eating earlier. Spike has already started ignoring his food. I feed them them normal until I stop.

2. During the summer the lights are on for about 14 hours. In Sept I cut back by a half hour every week. That brings me down to 10. In october I do the same thing, which brings me down to 8. I do this again in november which brings it down to 6, which is what I leave it too. In most cases I don't have to change light bulbs because room temp isn't as high and the bulb has to work harder so isn't as warm.

All of my guys are over a year so I'll let them all cool. If I'm not planning on breeding I just follow their lead. If they want to cool them I lower the lights and stop feeding. If they don't show any signs of beginning to cool, I just leave things alone.

[brunetteoctober]

what do you mean by "beginning to cool?"

[Jenn]

Signs of beginning to cool (beginning to go into brumations) are less active, staying burrowed more and eating less or stopping eating all together.

[brunetteoctober]

i see.

[Jenn]

Some skinks are very intuned with the outside weather and will start no matter what their tanks temps or lights are. Some skinks just slow down some but never go into true brumation. Some don't slow down at all. Even if a skink is brumating you still will see them everyone and a while come out and bask.

[aggiegirl]

I typically take both my blueys out daily for a little sun but we've had a bit of a cool spell and it seems to be influencing them. Usually, they are eagerly awaiting this in the late afternoon. However, recently Pele' (my one year old) has been spending more time hiding and less time eating. Since we live in Texas, I wasn't sure if brumation would be on his agenda but now I'm guessing it is. Our house temps don't vary much and I haven't done anything to change lighting. Charlotte (my precious baby) seems to be doing the opposite. She seems to be basking more. Her basking temp is a bit less since the house is a tad cooler but her appetite is unaffected. (She is still a little piggy!)
I will try decreasing Pele's lighting and eliminate his feedings if he continues this trend. He is on a 12 on/off cycle now so I don't have as much changing to do. I may go ahead and get timers as it will be more complicated keeping the two of them on different lighting schedules.
Thanks Jenn for all the advice!

[Jenn]

Spike, Stella and Saphira both start cooling on their own. It doesn't matter what I do with their lights and temps, something clickes in their brains and they're done for the winter. Spike is always the first though. With Frankie and Saphira, I have to dig for them once a week or so, so I get a huff, otherwise I wouldn't know they were alive because they rarely come out. Every few days or so Stella will come out for a little walk and a bask but it's not for long and he doesn't eat. Baylee always stops eating but doesn't always slow down. I think that's part of the reason I can't get them to breed. Because he is still active, he always has the greatest weight loss. Christopher ate less last year and woke up later but that was the extend of his cooling. I think all the stimulation at school keeps him more active. We'll see what the does this winter.

[Leigh]

I've noticed Blue is usually asleep most of the afternoon and evening now I'm going to start to drop off the lights. Jenn which light do you do, I mean do you leave the UV and basker on for the same length of time, I was going to drop the basker to around six hours and leave the UV at ten, last year he didnt slow down let alone stop, I'm hoping he'll go to sleep a boy and wake up a man!!!

[Jenn]

I don't use UV lights any more. I think it's okay for the UV light to be one for longer because then it's like the sun in the fact that when it first rises it doesn't give off much heat and then your heat leamp could come on and the same thing on the other end at night.

[Leigh]

Thanks for the conformation, I had that scheme in mind

[kman1247]

ok, i'm confused so i need two lamps and at wat temperaturee should the lamp be? also i'm a little concerned that during this time u don't know if it's alive or dead.

[Fatal_S]

Trikks has definately gone into brumation. I haven't seen him since I gave up trying to feed him. I poked him today and eventually got a huff, telling me he's in his tank and alive. I plan to do that every few days. I'll also take him out a couple times and weigh him, to make sure he's not losing weight badly since he's so small and young. Lastly, I'll start shortening the days for them and I'm changing his light to less wattage, let it cool a little bit. Silly little lizard.

[Leigh]

ok, i'm confused so i need two lamps and at wat temperaturee should the lamp be? also i'm a little concerned that during this time u don't know if it's alive or dead.

Consult the All Knowing Caresheet, take time and read it completely, the answer you seek is in the text.

[Fatal_S]

ok, i'm confused so i need two lamps and at wat temperaturee should the lamp be? also i'm a little concerned that during this time u don't know if it's alive or dead.

Consult the All Knowing Caresheet, take time and read it completely, the answer you seek is in the text.

And if it's a really hard question, a good sacrfice will do the trick! I find throwing an egg to a bluey is generally well accepted ^.^

Sorry, but Leigh made it sound like a tribal god.

The Caresheet welcomes you into the Order of the Blue.