Hibernation vs not

[SamBobCat]

Does not hibernating a tegu change how long it lives? Because if it spends about half of its life dormant, and lives for about 15 years, would a non-hibernated tegu only live for 7 years?

 

[Roadkill]

Theoretically yes, but no one has really done any kind of concrete research to determine if this is the case. Plus, as someone (probably the only one here) that has actually done research in tegu hibernation......not all tegu's hibernate the same. Some go down and stay asleep most the time, some come out and bask regularly but don't eat during the hibernation period but don't lose much weight...so you get to the question of "what is actually taking place during hibernation?". Aside from a depressed metabolism, I can't really say much. However, I think the bigger contributer to what shortens the lifespan of tegus is their diet. What do we typically see as advice? High protein and high frequency, in other words a calorie rich diet. Calorie rich diets equal early death, every study I know backs that claim up. Feeding a tegu every day, even every other day, is overfeeding them. Don't get me wrong, they probably like being fed that often, but we also like to eat plenty and do no exercise, and we know it isn't good for us.

 

[Deac77]

Roadkill, I feed meat (whole prey) every Monday and Friday only and the fruit on wed and that's it would you consider this to much?

 

[Roadkill]

It is really hard to say for certain what is a healthy feeding plan, especially with different nutritional content foods, but I'd think that's probably fair. In comparative physiology, we do a lot of analysing on very basic standardized values, and there's a common "rule of thumb" when it comes to energetics: if you were comparing equal mass animals, the amount of caloric intake that it takes to sustain a bird for one day is enough caloric intake to sustain a lizard for 40 days (remember, of the same mass, so the bird would be something like a macaw to compare to an adult tegu). This doesn't mean feed a bird every day and feed a lizard once a month, it means whereas a bird needs to eat a lot in a day every day, a lizard should be given smaller meals more spread out. The habit of feeding tegus every day/every other day, as much as they'll eat, is simply a recipe for obesity. And when we go back to the original question involving hibernation, this is part of the idea of a hibernator living longer, not only because a good portion of the year they have a greatly reduced metabolism, but also because their food intake is greatly reduced/nonexistent at this time, and fasting is routinely shown to prolong life.

 

[Deac77]

Ok cool. Compared to what I've seen my tegus are very lean and incredibly active compared to many others. They show no signs of emancipation or dehydration (externally obviously that's all I can judge by) so I guess I'll continue.

This seems like a incredibly difficult area of study to prove a "standard out"

 

[Roadkill]

and right there, Deac77, is something that you've hit upon that is probably one of the most crucial elements: exercise. Because of the way they are often kept, and just other variables most people don't think about, captive tegus are prone to sedentary lifestyles, whereas in the wild these things roam, have to hunt for most prey and (if my off-hand observations are any indication) are not exactly what I'd call proficient hunters. They expend a lot of energy often for little to no results. Keeping your tegus active is one of the best things you can do for their health.

 

[Deac77]

I try and keep that "forage" instinct strong and active, summer months they live outdoors and winter are in a HUGE cage