Brumation??

Question
Hi I'm not sure if these animals brumate in the wild but I have a 7' water monitor,4' tegu and savannah monitor along with my 17' albino burmese python. Its winter here and they've been sleeping for almost a week. My red tail boa and water dragons are fine there not sleeping. I'm an experienced herp keeper but this is my first time experiencing this, I made sure their stomachs were cleared out to prevent the food from rotting in there stomachs and killing them, their all males. Is this normal??should I wake them??

Answer
Hello,

It sounds like all of your reptiles are entering burmation. Even reptiles that tend not to burmate in the wild, will slow down and burmate in captivity. It primarily has to do with light cycles, as well as temperature. If they are exposed to natural light, they sense the shorter days. The amount of time they spend "sleeping" will depend on the individual and the species. I would continue to offer food at least once a week and make hydration available, particularly if they exhibit signs of dehydration. My bearded dragons spend around 3 months burmating, but will occasionally wake up for a bit of food or water. If your animals are showing now other signs of illness, I would not be concerned.

I hope this helps
Jennifer