Sandlizard won't hibernate...

[berggren]

Hello averyone!

I have an old pair (at least 14 years) Lacerta agilis argus. The female have been out of sight for several weeks now. But my problem is regarding the male. He's been sitting in a small bush for a couple of days, not seeking shelter even when it's getting dark at night. I live in south of Sweden. And the thing is, autumn is getting worse and worse, rainy and 13degrees C (5-6 degrees at night).
I know, he's old. But I'm worried. Should I bring him inside?

/Björn

[barb1]

Absolutely, or you will lose him. After 14 long years if he is going to die, you will know you have done your best. If he is sitting out in all weathers, he must either be unwell, or senile. When reps are unwell they don't usually want to hibernate. Bring him in and slowly warm him up. If he survives and starts eating, why not try a short hibernation somewhere cool for a few weeks after Christmas? All the best for the old chap.

[berggren]

Thanks for your reply. I think that's what i'm going to do, follow your advice...

[mark68]

Do they normally hibernate outdoors without intervention ? Or have you brought them indoors over winter in the past ?

[berggren]

They normally hibernate outside and have done so for many years now. Well, I have brought him in (slowly increasing temperature) and hopes for the best...

[mark68]

I think then you are doing the right thing. Maybe this animal is near the end of its life ? Still i wouled keep it somewhere cold indoors if its general condition looks good.

[robv]

I have noticed an interesting habit in younger animals when it comes to hibernating. Last year I had a lot of young (CB07) agilis and schreiberi that refused to hibernate at all. Whereas the majority of my animals hunkered down and vanished at around the same time, I noticed that the young animals were doing a complete reverse. In freezing cold, wet conditions the animals were sat on the surface of the enclosures even at night - I spent many nights with a torch gently 'burying' animals under logs and leaves. However they would always drag themselves back to the surface - during summer months when we have cold and wet weather these same animals were out of sight.

I can only conclude that the same 'trigger' that sends animals underground can sometimes force the animals to behave in this way. I guess in the wild they would be picked off by predators almost immediately.

This year a young female trilin has done exactly this - I found her on the surface at around 7pm in total darkness. However this time I brought her straight into a viv in an outhouse which is a few degrees above the outside temperature. The key difference is that this environment is dry - and straight away she has gone down into hibernation.

I have taken the precaution of covering areas of the outdoor vivs with glass sheets to create some semi dry areas for the animals.

Was wondering if anyone else has experienced this?

[barb1]

Could it be that the hibernation area is not deep enough or on a bank. When I have hibernated my tortoises outside, they always head for the most dry area under conifers which has little rain running into the soil.

My Adult Eyed Lizards are now hunkered down and use a cave I built for them under rocks. They have used it all summer and it is about a foot up their hillock and at least a foot deep(they may have dug it deeper.) It is impossible to get them out and must make them feel safe from predators.