Brumation?

[lizardman0126]

I was reading something about geckos not eating, and it said something about seasonal change. I thought brumating was only for beardies and other lizards of that sort, but do fat tails?
If you've been following my recent posts you would know that my fat tail, Oreo, isn't eating. He also doesn't come out at night anymore. The only time he's up is when either I wake him up or he is going back and froth to the cool side. All in all, just wondering do fat tailed gecko or any geckos brumate?

 

[acpart]

In my experience some geckos of any species may go into some degree of brumation ranging from eating less to actually going to the cool side and sleeping a lot. In general I provide water and continue offering food every 3 days though some of them don't eat.

Aliza

 

[lizardman0126]

Yeah, he not eating. But whatever he does eat goes straight to his tail. How long does this state or trance last? Month? Few weeks? Few months?

 

[acpart]

Well at the extreme I have a gecko who frequently wouldn't eat at all between Nov. and May. He'd lose 20 grams over the winter and gain it back in the summer. He's a bit better now but still doesn't eat much. It varies with the gecko. Just keep offering and see what he'll do.

Aliza

 

[cassicat4]

Agreed^. It really depends on the gecko and reptile.

Where I live, it's very cold, and almost all of my reptiles have been affected, even though their enclosure temps and humidity are where they should be. Some are full-out into brumation, or are trying to be (bearded and water dragon), and the rest are just lethargic and not eating much. I used to feed my Leos every two days, but now they're offered food every 3 days, and sometimes they'll eat, sometimes they won't. Both of my crested geckos and cave gecko are only eating about once a week. And my fat tail and gargoyle are spending a lot more time on their cool side or in their moist hides.

Do you have a scale? If so, what I recommend doing, especially during the cooler months, is weighing your gecko often - about once a week. Most reptiles who enter a 'cooling' period or brumation will not lose more than a few grams as their metabolism slows right down and they don't require or process as much food. Significant weight loss, with the exception of the above poster's gecko, can indicate underlying health problems and it may be in your gecko's best interest to get checked out by a vet at this time.