Amyae

[Ken Bartenfeld]

First year brumating these, I don't even know when to start...or what to really do...

Any advice would be greatful...and do you brumate the babies too?

 

[iand]

i dont currently keep these geckos but i am working on it. i guess it depends on what size the babies are when you decide to brumate them. someone like geckodan would know. shoot him a PM. goodluck

 

[geckodan]

Hi Ken, I don't do anything different to my levis. There is little point cooling juvies as its just a waste of good growing time.

 

[Ken Bartenfeld]

Might as well finish off this old post.

What I do:

I slowly bring the light cycle from 12-13 hours to 8 hours of light per day. I also during this time gradually drop the the tempertures to the mid 50's to low 60's. You want to make sure your geckos are well fed and have properly digested all the food you have previously fed them. You should stop feeding them a week or more before you attempt keeping them at lower tempertures since they won't be able to digest and the food would literally rot in their stomachs. During this time you will need to make sure you don't feed them at all and make sure you keep them hydrated by spraying the enclosure once a week or every two weeks. Cool them for 2-2 1/2 months and slowy take them out just as you would have put them in raising their temps back up to 80's to even a hot spot of 90's. I have done this with all my Aussie geckos, except O. lesueurii. Where they are not a warm dwelling gecko as I was told.

I am in a hurry, hope I didn't leave anything out.

 

[Ken Bartenfeld]

Hatch what?

 

[oli]

good post, there's always some little questions that I have during this time of year but you covered most of them thanks...

 

[Ken Bartenfeld]

That's why I posted it, I really think a lot of people have quetions regarding Aussie species that time of the year, and this covers all over them. Oedura lesueurii need it a bit cooler...but other than that, it was a good little overall guide I think?

Take care and thank Oli, hope the new job is working out!

 

[Shonfield]

are you saying that o.lesueurii dont need to brumate?

 

[Ken Bartenfeld]

No no no, they HAVE to be brumated...or you won't get eggs!

 

[poss]

Rather than starting a new thread;
How long after bringing the females out of cooling do you introduce the male?

 

[MTH]

Was wondering over how long a period does it take for you to drop the temps until you reach your lowest temp settings and at what degree intervals do you drop daily? Hope this make sense. :scratchhead: I just don't want to drop the temps to quickly and have them get sick/pass on me.

 

[Ken Bartenfeld]

Hi,

You want to make sure they are ready for brumating by feeding them and fattening them up. Then over the course of about a month and a half you can gradully drop it a degree a day or every other day. I have personally dropped it immediately then kept the heat up and dropped the heat instead. Just make sure you don't feed them during brumation because you don't want the food to rot inside them. This is very important. Make sure they fully digested the food they have eaten prior to brumation and are of health to do so. If you have any other questions feel free to ask. I've cooled down Oedura lesueruii, tryoni, castelnaui, coggeri, Nephrurus amyae, wheeleri, Eurydactylodes agricolae all with this method and didn't lose any...oh yeah, also a Pilibara Rock monitor...and a Pachydactylus oculatus male...so as long as you fatten them up they can survive not feeding them for 2 1/2 months...and trust me! It's nice not feeding them and saving the money and being able to build your colonies of whatever your feeders are. Mine were B. dubia and B. lateralis at the time.

(5 years ago)

 

[Mikhail F. Bagaturov]

Hello ALl!
Very useful thread.
Sorry to reincarnate it but I want to know what others use as a brumating box as i have to remove mine for brumation from living room.
I use the box with maist soil where i put my levis and wheeleri. Shall i keep himidity high for them or it is not bad if the soil dry out?
Or should i remove them and keep outside the soil in paper or any other else content of the box?
Thanks in further.

Last year i lost my adult milii by apparent reason i still not realize which one ;( so i do not want to do it with my nephrurus anymore.
please, i need advice from more experienced keepers like you, friends!
Do you think also they are enough good for 1 month+ hibernation period?

N. l.levis

N. wh. cinctus

 

[aquapimp]

I used to let my Nephrurus enclosures get rather dry during brumation. I would mist them lightly once a week, if the animals happened to be out of their hides. a small water dish was available at all times. Of course, humidity needing taxa such as laevissimus were provided a barely moist hide even during brumation. I gave my entire room a two to three month break. Breeding always happened with enthusiasm after this rest period.

 

[Mikhail F. Bagaturov]

Ok, thank you!

So, everyone with Nephrurs here on the board always brumate their animals only in the same terrarium they kept.
Ah.... I see.
Seems like my q sounds like of an idiot.

 

[Riverside Reptiles]

With levis, I tend to spray lightly about once a week during the winter cooling. I don't have wheeleri. So I can't comment on them.

 

[Mikhail F. Bagaturov]

thank You Ethan!

Another q is if temps drop down to 16-17 C does it harm them? as correct temp is 18-19 C as i`ve found.

 

[reptirus]

Obviously this is probably the time of the year that people are bringing reptiles out of brumation, not putting them in, but im just curious for next year. When about do you start dropping temps/when do you want to be at the lowest temps(mid 50-low 60):?

 

[oli]

i would recommend getting the geckos well fed and fattened up like Ken was saying way early in this post. Then I will give the geckos a week and a half in their normal enclosures with the usual heat so they can fully digest and poop out everything in their system as it is dangerous to let an animal brumate with food in its gut as the food rots in their system and they will die. After the geckos have finished their digestion I bring the temps down to 60F over the course of a week. Then I let my geckos cool at 60F for 1.5 months. Then I bring them back to their normal temps slowly over the course of a week. Then they are ready to start eating! And they do just that. I give them a good month of heavy eating and then I will introduce the pairs. Been successful doing it like this. As to when in the season I cool my geckos? Whenever is most convenient for me, but usually when the temps outside are the coolest, and when the daylight is the shortest as this would be the most natural for the gecko. I do not keep my aussies moist during brumation at all like Tom, I just offer a little water bowl or spray a small side wall once a week. Levis I keep pretty dry too, with an occasional spray on the wall and a light spray under one hide now and again. Definitely not often though. Hope this helps a little. If the animals go into brumation nice and healthy, they usually come out looking just like they did when they went in. Brumation can be shady when the animals go into cooling less than 100% healthy and plump.

 

[NigelMoses]

I feel I am most concerned with the females laying eggs. Say they lay a set and they are still nice and fat. So you begin cooling but what if you cool them too quick and they had begun to form new eggs? My female levis are very consistent with egg production and this worries me.