do you need to hibernate leos

[turtlebuyer]

I had someone tell me you had to hibernate leos before the breeding season. Is this true? If so how do you do it.

 

[Xavier]

No

Its not needed but some cool them down.

 

[StinaUIUC]

I think attempting to hibernate a leo would kill it... however in the wild they do experience seasons, including a cold period (not an extreme temp change like winters here!) in which their metabolism slows down and they eat less. In general a cooling period is not necessary, but some leos will breed better if they are cooled down some during the winter. I don't remember the actual temp difference though...

 

[iluvblackfrancis]

I hibernate mine in a way. All my reptiles. They get cooled down to a point where they almost stop eating completely, (though they still eat, just a lot less), and become a lot less active. They still have access to heat, but the cool side, and air temp is much lower than usual. It is in my opinion that this is extremely good for all reptiles, and I recommend doing it if you can. Not doing it wont hurt them any, but I've noticed that geckos with out the seasonal changes are a bit weird. Like a cat kept indoors all it's life.

 

[StinaUIUC]

Why do you say cats kept indoors all their life act wierd?...I don't think they act wierd...they act different than an outdoor or feral cat would, but I wouldn't call it wierd. A different environment calls for different behavior. Captive geckos to begin with are going to act different than wild ones. Also, you are not hibernating if they are still eating, drinking, and moving around (even if it is a great deal less..). You are just cooling. If you tried to lower temps enough to actually get a leo to hibernate you would kill it.

 

[Xelda]

I've met people who panic when their leos stop eating, so they try to adjust the temperatures to avoid letting their leos brumate. That doesn't make sense to me at all. I think letting the leos brumate according to their natural instinct is better for them in the long run. It may even contribute to a longer life span since their metabolisms are allowed to slow down every year.

 

[LadyGecko]

I would tend to agree with the natural brumation thing. I have kept bearded dragons for years and while not the same animal they slow down the exact same way and I do believe that it is healthy(maddening but healthy) to let them cool down-brumate or whatever you want to call it providing that they are at a sufficient weight/age for it not to cause any harm to the animal.
As far as indoor cats acting weird-well-they most certainly act differently than cats that are allowed to go outdoors but I had a 7 yr. old neutered male(Scruffy) get run over by a kid in a camero about 2 years ago. This kid didn't even slow down or stop-good thing for him I guess because I don't know what myself or my bf would have done if he had stopped..
Scruffy was the sweetest most affectionate cat and I kick myself in the a** evey time I think that he would still be here with me if I had kept him inside. But he loved to go outdoors and He usally hung out in the backyard in the sun and for some reason that particular day he decided to cross the small street that we live on and got litterally run over.
I held him in my lap as he died and I dug his grave and buried him shortly after.
I vowed after that not to ever let my cats outside again and I try and keep them inside but of course with a multiple cat household there is always one running out the door when I let my dogs out. I just leep m fingers crossed when they do manage to sneak outside..
Sandy

 

[StinaUIUC]

I agree that brumation can be good, but that's not an extreme temperature change. I personally don't particularly like the term for leos as they don't do the same thing as say a turtle that will bury itself and not eat or anything at all until the weather is warm. Leopard geckos don't go into that "deep sleep" they just slow down some.

Sandy...I'm sorry about what happened to your cat...I've luckily never had to deal with a pet getting hit by a car. Our pets have always been indoor pets. Although my family's golden retriever has almost been hit before...because she likes to take off if she can get out the door... Anyway...cats kept indoors do act differently than cats that are allowed outdoors, but that does not mean they are acting wierd...they are just behaving as thier environment "dictates"

 

[iluvblackfrancis]

I consider letting my animals have a resting period in the winter hibernation, even though they're not technically hibernating. My reptiles all get a natural temperature change, as well as daylight-nightlight changing too. It's easy for me though, as all my reptiles are kept outdoors.

 

[LadyGecko]

Thanks so much for your kind words- in an ideal world we would be able to let our dogs and cats roam freely but it is just not safe for them to do so and even in the "country" there are hazards of being shot if they try and mess with a farmers livestock.
I know for a fact that there are actually more dogs and cats killed on the roads out in the country because of the high rate of speed that the cars are traveling at- it is usually all highway.
I do agree that there is a great deal of difference between a cat or a dog's behavior that primarily lives outdoors and those that are kept indoors all or most of the time.
It would stand to reason that Leos in the wild might even exhibit behaviors that we have never experienced in captivity because of the difference of their circumstances and conditions.
Has there been many studies on Leos in the wild?
I would be interested in doing some reading up on that subject.
Sandy.

 

[chondrokeeper]

Thanks so much for your kind words- in an ideal world we would be able to let our dogs and cats roam freely but it is just not safe for them to do so and even in the "country" there are hazards of being shot if they try and mess with a farmers livestock.

Ever think about the natural fauna one would be killing too by letting ones cats roam free. Case in point, there was a species of bird on an island out new New Zealand that was killed to extinction....by only ONE cat. This was back in the 1800s and early 1900s.

Not to get off topic, but "outdoor" cats do far too much damage to the beloved reptiles and other animals we claim to care so much for. I love cats, we've always had a cat in the house (though now that I live by myself I don't have one) while I was growing up. But I have a severe problem and issue with someone else's cat coming into my yard and crapping in my turtle pen, giving my turtles coccidia or other parasites/diseases, all because they want their cat to be both an inside and outside cat.

In an ideal world all animals could live on coolwhip, but this isn't an ideal world. Just think about all the nice little native lizards and snakes, plus other animals one would be unknowingly killing by letting their cat roam free. And they don't just kill to eat, they kill for pleasure at times.

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Now as for colling leos...I've done it in the past. I would reduce temps and food intake just like I would with my snakes, eventually getting to a point where they are only heated by room temps and are no longer eating. Then it was off to the garage where temps ranged from 50-65 from Nov to March. Now granted, the leos would only be down for about a month, 2 mnoths at the most, but they never really lost much weight and they had water at all times.

FWIW, even out in the wild, hibernating (brumating) herps can be found during the cool months. Twin-spot rattlers have been observed basking on talus slopes in the Chiricahua Mnts with snow on the ground. Ambient air temps were in the 30s and 40s and the rocks they were basking on were in the 60s and 70s. But this is also a high elevation snake (8000ft+). Along the foothills here around Las Cruces, NM you can find rattlesnake den sites with rattlers out basking on warm winter days in Nov-Feb. I would venture to say that in the northern range on leopard geckos I bet they do brumate!