Brumation whilst young.

jim_radley · Posted: Fri Jan 06, 2006 2:44 pm Post subject: Brumation whilst young.

I have a Tegu that is around 12 months old, and have been told that if I don't put the Tegu into brumation now, then when he is sexually mature he won't be able to breed. Is this true?

Teiidae · Posted: Fri Jan 06, 2006 3:00 pm Post subject:

I don't hibernate or breed, however my understanding on this is that they must hibernate pre breeding season in order to breed - They can be put into hibernation one year and not into hibernation another, however when kept out of hibernation - they will not breed that year - Anyone wants to jump in and clarify on this some more, feel free to do so...
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jim_radley · Posted: Fri Jan 06, 2006 3:02 pm Post subject:

I was under the impression that they must be brumated every winter after hatching, and if they aren't brumated one year then they'll never be able to breed again even if they are brumated in the future.

Teiidae · Posted: Fri Jan 06, 2006 5:14 pm Post subject:

That may be true - here is a copy and paste of something found from reptilia.org...

Breeding: Hibernation is a must for this species throughout life and in particular if you intend to breed them. Bert Langerwerf (pers. com.) feels that even one missed winter of hibernation may eliminate any chance of successful breeding. Both animals should be maintained at 4o-16oC (40o-60oF) for four to six months. Breeding typically takes place about two weeks after the animals are brought out of hibernation. Gravid females must be provided with a large nestbox to lay their eggs.
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tupinambis · Posted: Fri Jan 06, 2006 7:45 pm Post subject:

I can see where breeders typically have this view (ie.-they must always be hibernated to promote breeding), but I don't think it is necessarily "true". In the wild, most animals will hibernate as winter approaches. Go back and read that sentence. MOST will hibernate. Not all tegus hibernate (I'm speaking of WITHIN species that hibernate, not comparing between species). Some winters are much more mild than others, other conditions could be more favourable (ie. food and water availability) and this results in tegus that are active during their dormant season. Now, if what people claim is true (they must hibernate to breed AT ALL TIMES) then this creates the implication that tegus that failed to hibernate because of prevailing environmental conditions one season will NEVER reproduce again, and therefore are basically non-entities when considering the population (they no longer contribute to the gene pool and have a relative fitness from that point on of zero). I don't think this is actually what happens. Admittedly, I haven't any experiments to support or disqualify these claims, but it would have serious implications on the viability of a population. Global warming would have some rather disastrous effects were this true. In nature, it is more likely that something is able to reset the tegu's biological rhythms so that in subsequent years, breeding is put "back on track", and our lack of knowledge of what exactly is doing this would likely lead to a failure in reproduction.

A bit of a semantic point here - brumation. I'm willing to bet that most people who use this term don't even realize what it means. It is NOT synonomous with "reptile hibernation". It's meaning is much more specific than that, and as yet, scientists haven't even agreed that what dormant reptiles do during the winter is hibernation, let alone brumation. Brumation is reptile "hibernation" that is INDEPENDENT of temperature. This means that, in consideration to your tegus, they would be hibernating during winter even if their body temperature was 37degrees C. What do most of us do to "hibernate" our reptiles? We cool them down. Therefore, it is not brumation.