Overwintering Patients
At Tucson Wildlife Center, not every animal can be released right away—especially birds and reptiles who miss following their natural seasonal rhythms, such as migration or brumation. This season, we have an elf owl, a box turtle, two kingsnakes, a gopher snake, and two lizards (one short-horned lizard and one spiny lizard) who will be overwintering in our care.
The elf owl, a species that migrates south from southern Arizona in winter to follow insect availability, arrived too late in the season to make that journey safely. The box turtle was unable to enter brumation after sustaining a shell injury that prevented proper burrowing. Both kingsnakes and the gopher snake also missed their window for brumation while recovering from injuries.
The lizards faced similar challenges: the tiny short-horned lizard arrived without the fat reserves needed to safely brumate, and the spiny lizard is still healing from an injury to one of his hind limbs.
Throughout the winter, each of these animals will receive species-specific care, appropriate temperatures, and diets designed to support their health while they wait for warmer weather.
The reptile hideouts many of you recently donated are already making a huge difference for these long-term patients—allowing our wildlife care team to regularly change and rotate their enclosures to provide enrichment and reduce stress. Thanks to your generosity, when spring returns, each of these patients will be ready to return to the wild! If you would like to help patients like these overwintering patients, click this link to donate,
Another way you can contribute is to visit our “wish list” on Amazon or Chewy below:
We appreciate it, as will all the wild animals in our care!
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Show your support with a minimum $25 donation and we’ll send you a “KEEP TUCSON WILD” sticker. Click the bumper sticker to donate.