second brumation

Taco brumated last year, starting around mid to end of March (not sure about which day to count as first day of brumation).

Taco is now in his cave for almost a week, awake during parts of the day (especially in the morning, and around human's dinner time), sleeping many hours per day.
He sometimes does 1 - 2 "cave days", and some of the last days have been a bit more windy and a bit more cloudy (think of: days that would still count as beautiful and hot summer days elsewhere, but are a bit "autumn feeling" for here). But now that he still hasn't left his cave makes me think: he's brumating again.

Btw.: This time he had chosen another cave. Last time he brumated he was around 10 months old and did fit behind/under the aloe and the back climbing wall. He is now using a different cave, also well hidden but a bit larger, but his size now he fits in snug into that one. He's now about 150 g heavier than when he brumated the first time.

 

[ChileanTaco]

A bit more from his brumation-or-not:

Yesterday he didn't come out, it was a bit a cooler day (relative to usual temperatures), a bit cloudy sometimes - still nice enough for reading a book on the balcony, wearing summer clothes, but not nice enough for him.
Today in the morning, his second basking lamp failed, the one which is above his cave and he normally gets some "morning light" (from the lamp) into his cave. As I had to leave immediately, I instructed my husband to once he gets up get a replacement lamp from our basement compartment and screw it in (left also a note with his breakfast ). Might be 2 hours later than when the lamps normally switch on. With that start, I'm pretty sure today he stays in his cave, too or maybe might come out a bit during late afternoon - at least, it's a hot and sunny day again outdoors.

 

[ChileanTaco]

Taco now behaves completely "non-brumation", so I'm back to feeding him normally, taking him out and such. I'm curious whether he attempts brumation again this fall/ winter.

 

[xp29]

Taco now behaves completely "non-brumation", so I'm back to feeding him normally, taking him out and such. I'm curious whether he attempts brumation again this fall/ winter.

They do go through lazy spells, I've seen it in mine a lot.

 

[ChileanTaco]

@xp29
Taco also sometimes - he even typically stays one to two days per week in his cave, up to three, on a regular basis* -, but two weeks not coming out at all and sleeping most of the day was ways longer than normal for times outside of brumation.

*So typical for Taco that my husband loves to for fun come up with some old-fashioned words in our native language for "being lazy"

 

[Sue E.]

Kai seems to be a cave dweller also lol. He will stay in it all day sometimes, except for coming out between 9 or 10 am and 3 pm!

 

[ChileanTaco]

I can share one of those old-fashioned words: "bräsig" (an adjective) and he's also been called a "Bräsbattl" (noun, in dialect, means "a lazy person, and not much brain too")

In another forum, I encountered fun names for dogs (in German, no seriously meant, all referring to typical dog behavior like running, eating a lot, sleeping, being lazy), among them "Faulrich" where "faul" is literally "lazy" (but also means "foul") and the "-rich" being a typical word ending for a men's name in German like "Erich, Ulrich, Dietrich". That nickname might be used

 

[ChileanTaco]

I think he's now really (or again) brumating. He was down there, then up and active for some days.
Then the past few days:

 

[xp29]

I think he's now really (or again) brumating. He was down there, then up and active for some days.
Then the past few days:

Oh he's got both arms in full comfy mode now lol.

 

[ChileanTaco]

@xp29
He also sleeps exactly like this (when not brumating).

 

[xp29]

@xp29
He also sleeps exactly like this (when not brumating).

My guys never have had a favorite place in their habitats. They just fall asleep where ever they are. It's cute that Taco loves his spots and goes there like that.

 

[ChileanTaco]

Mine is indeed extremely about favorite spots. When he was younger, it was behind an aloe plant (it was already a bit a cave, and he dug deeper) - sleeping, resting, he went there.
The cave in the photo did already exist from the beginning on, but he used it at maximum sometimes during day but only with his eyes open. Only after I added the knotty branch in front, he started to use it to sleep there and after a while it became his usual spot to sleep. He is very much into: sleeping only where there is a narrow entrance and something should be on top of his back - like the lower end of the branch here, or when he dug under the aloe.
With him, it's really you can say "if he's not basking (or eating or pooping), he's in there". Like: For some cats, you look either on the windowsill or in their basket.

 

[ChileanTaco]

Taco again interrupted his brumation, now the second day out and behaving "non-brumating" despite for going to bed rather early (he goes into his cave around 4pm now, still bright daylight and it's dark outside by 7pm and then he sleeps by 6pm, 6:30pm). Taco ate some golliwog today and got one small dubia from me.

Today he was resting during the late afternoon on his "flower pot turned into headrest". It's now 7:30pm and it looks like he decided to sleep there like he already did sometimes. Photo was taken a bit earlier, around 6pm, with his head briefly up when he saw I had the camera out. When his head is down, it fits in perfectly.

Last weekend I did not buy the superworms from the reptile store as I thought he now really brumates (so, other thread, no photos taken there yet). Next time I'm downtown I will get some as they keep for a long time, doesn't matter if he eats them right away or in a few months.

 

[Sue E.]

How adorable he is with his head in the pot!

 

[ChileanTaco]

Yes, so cute And I love that he obviously found out on his own (not today, but a while ago), as there was a plant in the pot which he dug out one day and then immediately used it like this. He's now sleeping, the head totally snuggled into the pot (which has an opening where his neck is, so that's a really good fit - opening on that side was shaped by me with the intent of making it so that the plant, which was in there, can grow out of it on the other side similarly to how some herb pots are shaped).

 

[ChileanTaco]

First time I found him doing so: