Brumation can be sort of a funny topic and I would like to talk a little about this interesting phenomenon.  It’s sort of like a mini hibernation and it varies a lot from reptile to reptile.   I know that some bearded dragons will go to sleep for weeks or months at a time.  Others are content with just a mini brumation.  In the wild, reptiles obviously have no choice, but to brumate.  As the season changes, it gets cooler, the days are shorter, and there is less food available to them.  But in captivity, when they are in a tank with consistent heat, UVB, and food, why would they need to go to sleep for the season?  

 

Well, they really don’t!  But instinct tells them that they should.  And what’s so cool is that they are able to distinguish between the seasons.  Even though their tanks are consistently toasty warm and filled with light, somehow they still know that Fall has arrived and it’s time to slow down.  And again in the spring, they know it’s time to get back to their warm weather activities.

 

Our bearded dragon and our tortoise both participate in brumation. Our dragon, Sammy, slows down quite a bit and will take some naps during the day, but she still continues to bask and eat. 

      “I’m not giving up my worms!” 

She may even go into her cave to sleep for a couple days at a time, but that’s it.

 

Our tortoise, Matilda, is the same way.  Instead of walking all around and pacing back-and-forth all day in her tank, she just naps on and off in and around her basking spot.  And she has decided that she also is not going to give up any meals.  She just loves her salads!

 

This change makes us laugh, because they become completely different animals from summer to winter.  It’s such a noticeable difference and, in the winter time, they just tend to look droopy.   When we take them out of their tanks to let them walk around the house in the summertime, they’ll both walk all over the place from room to room.  But in the winter time, they mostly just sit in the same spot.

 

And then in the spring, they’ll return to their normal charismatic personalities and go about their days like nothing happened!  

 

Do you have a reptile that brumates?  I would love to hear about your experience with this.  So let me know in the comments below.  Thanks!