New with questions（aestivate）

[Chinchilla527]

wat up guys.
I'm a starter with two questions.
question1:
I've heard that pacman could die to aestivate if they are to young to do so. wats the causation of aestivate, is it humidity or temperature, or both?
How to prevent aestivate form happening when i use ungrounded coconut fiber as substrate.
question2:
ppl usually provide extra heating for pacman during the winter, however i've heard hibernation during the winter could make them live a longer life, as long as they are over the new born phase. it that true?
If it's for real, how could i prepare for their hibernation? Is there any article tells all the details?
thx
have a nice weekend all.

[DVirginiana]

wat up guys.
I'm a starter with two questions.
question1:
I've heard that pacman could die to aestivate if they are to young to do so. wats the causation of aestivate, is it humidity or temperature, or both?
How to prevent aestivate form happening when i use ungrounded coconut fiber as substrate.
question2:
ppl usually provide extra heating for pacman during the winter, however i've heard hibernation during the winter could make them live a longer life, as long as they are over the new born phase. it that true?
If it's for real, how could i prepare for their hibernation? Is there any article tells all the details?
thx
have a nice weekend all.

Pacs can die during aestivation, especially if they are young or unhealthy. It's also risky if the keeper has never done it before.
If you keep the heat and humidity at correct levels, the frog won't aestivate during winter.
I don't believe hibernating will make them live any longer. It is stressful for them, and they only do it in the wild to avoid conditions that would kill them otherwise. Pacs can live long, healthy lives and never aestivate. Lots of people aestivate their frogs because they breed them, and the frogs will mate when they wake up.
I would not recommend aestivating your frog (especially a young one) if you have never done it before.

I do not aestivate/hibernate any of my reptiles, but if you want to, there are people on here who could give you advice and links to articles.

[Lija]

I've heard that pacman could die to aestivate if they are to young to do so.

yes it is true a frog will die if goes into aestivation too young

wats the causation of aestivate, is it humidity or temperature, or both?
How to prevent aestivate form happening when i use ungrounded coconut fiber as substrate.

both and the only way to prevent this is to provide proper conditions.

ppl usually provide extra heating for pacman during the winter, however i've heard hibernation during the winter could make them live a longer life, as long as they are over the new born phase. it that true?

aestivation is frogs defense mechanism to survive in a wild, no need to do so in captivity.

[Namio]

ppl usually provide extra heating for pacman during the winter, however i've heard hibernation during the winter could make them live a longer life, as long as they are over the new born phase. it that true?
If it's for real, how could i prepare for their hibernation? Is there any article tells all the details?

Hi Chinchila527, think about it like this, when a frog hibernate is kind of like putting your laptop to sleep-mode, instead of leaving it on all the time. Yes, it's true that hibernation will likely prolonged the frog's life because it shuts down its metabolism for a while (depending on how long it hibernates), but the question is that is it necessary for the risks involved?

Many breeders will "cycle" their frogs into proper conditions (breeding mode) by intentionally inducing hibernation in captivity. I am not an expert on this but it basically involves with dramatic decrease in the temperature and humidity, and stops feeding completely. Occasional misting in their tanks is done and at all times a water bowl is provided. By reversing their conditions (gradually increase the temperature and humidity) will "wake" the hibernating frog up.

Nevertheless, attempting to estivate a younger frog or an unhealthy frog, it will die. Estivation takes quite a bit of energy on the frog's part initially (they form a multi-layered coccoon to seal themselves in), and less than ideal conditioned frogs probably won't make it.

I would not recommend estivation your frog as a normal hobbyist (like myself), unless you have done proper research or are a breeder who knows what their doing.

[GrifTheGreat]

No frog under 1 year of age should be allowed to aestivate or the frog may die. They must also be prepared by heavy feeding to build fat stores up so that they have something to provide nourishment while they sleep. You must also make sure the frogs stomach is empty and that their bowels are as well before the slumber.

Namio has covered everything to an extent, but it's not a dramatic drop in climate conditions, but a gradual drop in conditions over a period or 2 weeks. By lowering the temp by a couple degrees each day and at the same time lowering moisture levels in both the air humidity and substrate by misting less each day for this 2 week period. Each day you must also lessen the photo period by 15 minutes per day so that it appears that the seasons are changing which will cause the frog to react accordingly.

It is not a task for a beginner or inexperienced keeper. Many premature deaths have occurred because of a young frog or even older frogs being allowed to aestivate without proper conditioning.

[Chinchilla527]

Thx a lot for the info guys!