All animals change with the seasons. All life changes with the seasons. That's a fact. Luckily for us, due to modern day living, we are able to keep our pets on equal footing and their body rhythms leveled out. Outside of shedding, weight gain, and lower key behaviors, the seasonal changes we see with domestic pets is minimal. However, the more "wild" they are, the more we have to deal with hormones, instinct, and hard wired behaviors. People confuse the concept of and animal being captive bred and tame for not being wild. People mistakenly believe that just because a species has been kept quite literally since |
the beginning of time that they are domestic.
Case in point are birds. These animals are indeed ... wild. We did not breed them to live among mankind and our way of living. We did not create a new species so to speak. They are as exactly as they are in nature today. And so their behaviors and biology are as they are in the wild. Dogs, cats, ferrets, chickens and many other domestic pets have been: bred in captivity for generations, genetically altered in some way, and in some cases, the species has been "created" by man. In contrast, a ferret does not exist in the wild. They have a cousin, which is North America's black footed ferrets. They are not as close as you think. Domestic ferrets were "invented" by man back during ancient Greek times. The closest related animal would be the European polecat. But it is not a polecat. Back in ancient times people bred several species of mustelids together to get the mild mannered companion that we have today. They cannot survive in the wild. No feral domestic ferret populations have ever, ever been found in the U.S.. Their behavior due to thousands of years of careful breeding makes them with very little instinct and mostly cued into their human companions and geared to our way of living. Like a dog.
I apologize for the rambling biology lesson. The point I am making is that dogs and ferrets do not hibernate. Ever. Ever. Ever. It's something that has been bred out of them for our convenience and to make them better pets. All reptiles are wild. Many reptiles, ala the tegu, brumate or hibernate for the winter. And there is not a damn thing we can do about it (not without risk of harm really). I really believed that if I kept everything perfect, and I do mean ... perfect, it would not happen to me. Not all tegus "go down" for the winter. But many do. And so I have sat on FB missing my friends photos, videos and stories about their pet tegus because they went to bed. For the next six, yes SIX months. But not me. I'm determined. And I have everything perfect.
In August, I noticed my girl going to bed ... just a little bit earlier. Hmm. Okay. She's growing and things are going to be changing as she does so. Then she ate ... less. Oh my, I must have stressed her. Maybe having the family visit for a week did something. It'll pass. Look at that poor girl on Youtube whining about how she's not going to see her tegu for the rest of the years. Poor, poor thing. I'm so glad that's not going to happen to me. Yikes. Oh man, what is wrong with Kaiju. She's only eating every 2 days. She is at a crucial growing period in her life! I need to stuff her every chance I get so she grows nice and big. I guess she'll be one of those adults that doesn't eat every other day. She is 18 months old after all. I shouldnt' worry so much. Technically a tegu grows until death. Well good. Cheaper for me if she doesn't eat often. I sure do wish she'd eat more when she eats though.
Now it's October. "Chet! Do you have Kaiju out?" "No, mom, why"? Sheesh. It's only 1pm and she went to bed already? Must be an off day. I have off days. She sure is getting more off days though. I search the internet to find if other tegus are like this and have short days. I hope this isn't the way she's going to be. This sucks! Big time. I'm busy all morning, when am I going to be able to play with her? Yup, there are ... there are some tegus out there with either bizarre schedules or who go to bed after lunch. And people struggle as to when they can play with them or even feed them for that matter.
Next thing I know she's eating modest meals only 2-3 times a week. And she's in bed (under the substrate sleeping) by 12pm!!! What the... wait... oh no. No, please tell me she's not going to hibernate. Please. So here I am in the middle of October. She isn't hibernating ... yet. But she is only eating 2 times a week now and she has more and more days where she just plain doesn't get out of bed. So damn, whats the story. Are you going to hibernate or not?! Because I can't stand this worrying and trying to catch you when you are awake to feed you. I don't want to live this way until March. But ... I don't want you down permanently either. It scares me that i haven't gotten her all the way trained, and that she might go to bed for half a year. Maybe she'll forget. Maybe then she wont get back to the point I even had her at. I did everything right! I am a great mama and I make her happy. We all make her happy here.
So, several times a day I walk into her room, and just stare at an "empty" cage. Because don't you know if I stare at it hard and often enough, she'll come out. This royally sucks. Please don't go to sleep!
Case in point are birds. These animals are indeed ... wild. We did not breed them to live among mankind and our way of living. We did not create a new species so to speak. They are as exactly as they are in nature today. And so their behaviors and biology are as they are in the wild. Dogs, cats, ferrets, chickens and many other domestic pets have been: bred in captivity for generations, genetically altered in some way, and in some cases, the species has been "created" by man. In contrast, a ferret does not exist in the wild. They have a cousin, which is North America's black footed ferrets. They are not as close as you think. Domestic ferrets were "invented" by man back during ancient Greek times. The closest related animal would be the European polecat. But it is not a polecat. Back in ancient times people bred several species of mustelids together to get the mild mannered companion that we have today. They cannot survive in the wild. No feral domestic ferret populations have ever, ever been found in the U.S.. Their behavior due to thousands of years of careful breeding makes them with very little instinct and mostly cued into their human companions and geared to our way of living. Like a dog.
I apologize for the rambling biology lesson. The point I am making is that dogs and ferrets do not hibernate. Ever. Ever. Ever. It's something that has been bred out of them for our convenience and to make them better pets. All reptiles are wild. Many reptiles, ala the tegu, brumate or hibernate for the winter. And there is not a damn thing we can do about it (not without risk of harm really). I really believed that if I kept everything perfect, and I do mean ... perfect, it would not happen to me. Not all tegus "go down" for the winter. But many do. And so I have sat on FB missing my friends photos, videos and stories about their pet tegus because they went to bed. For the next six, yes SIX months. But not me. I'm determined. And I have everything perfect.
In August, I noticed my girl going to bed ... just a little bit earlier. Hmm. Okay. She's growing and things are going to be changing as she does so. Then she ate ... less. Oh my, I must have stressed her. Maybe having the family visit for a week did something. It'll pass. Look at that poor girl on Youtube whining about how she's not going to see her tegu for the rest of the years. Poor, poor thing. I'm so glad that's not going to happen to me. Yikes. Oh man, what is wrong with Kaiju. She's only eating every 2 days. She is at a crucial growing period in her life! I need to stuff her every chance I get so she grows nice and big. I guess she'll be one of those adults that doesn't eat every other day. She is 18 months old after all. I shouldnt' worry so much. Technically a tegu grows until death. Well good. Cheaper for me if she doesn't eat often. I sure do wish she'd eat more when she eats though.
Now it's October. "Chet! Do you have Kaiju out?" "No, mom, why"? Sheesh. It's only 1pm and she went to bed already? Must be an off day. I have off days. She sure is getting more off days though. I search the internet to find if other tegus are like this and have short days. I hope this isn't the way she's going to be. This sucks! Big time. I'm busy all morning, when am I going to be able to play with her? Yup, there are ... there are some tegus out there with either bizarre schedules or who go to bed after lunch. And people struggle as to when they can play with them or even feed them for that matter.
Next thing I know she's eating modest meals only 2-3 times a week. And she's in bed (under the substrate sleeping) by 12pm!!! What the... wait... oh no. No, please tell me she's not going to hibernate. Please. So here I am in the middle of October. She isn't hibernating ... yet. But she is only eating 2 times a week now and she has more and more days where she just plain doesn't get out of bed. So damn, whats the story. Are you going to hibernate or not?! Because I can't stand this worrying and trying to catch you when you are awake to feed you. I don't want to live this way until March. But ... I don't want you down permanently either. It scares me that i haven't gotten her all the way trained, and that she might go to bed for half a year. Maybe she'll forget. Maybe then she wont get back to the point I even had her at. I did everything right! I am a great mama and I make her happy. We all make her happy here.
So, several times a day I walk into her room, and just stare at an "empty" cage. Because don't you know if I stare at it hard and often enough, she'll come out. This royally sucks. Please don't go to sleep!