Did you know that some small furries can go into a form of hibernation, known as torpor?
Halloween is over, the weather is getting colder and it's time for us to keep warm by the fire with a hot chocolate or mulled wine. But for some animals they choose to deal with the colder weather slightly different. We've already discussed hibernation in tortoises, but what about our small furry friends?
There are a few mammals that are kept as common pets that may show signs of going in to hibernation, often referred to as torpor. Common mammals that we keep as pets that go in to torpor are hamsters and hedgehogs. There are many animals around the world that go into different levels of hibernation to help them survive the long, cold winters.
What is torpor specifically?
Well it's a state of reduced activity which allows the animal to conserve energy by slowing their metabolism down, their heart and respiratory rate drop, as well as their body temperature. Torpor is generally a short “hibernation” to allow the hamster to survive the harshest of conditions until they blow over.
In domesticated settings torpor is usually unlikely as we tend to keep our pets in warm rooms and provide them with plenty of food to keep their energy and metabolism up. So, if you find your pet is more sleepy and cold it could be something else is going on.
It's important to know if your pet is unwell or in a state of torpor so to rule out torpor as a cause check the temperature of the room, if it is over 20°C and they are not by an open window, or a draughty area, then it is unlikely your pet is in torpor. During torpor, your pets respiratory rate can decrease dramatically and be as slow as 1 every few minutes, this can obviously be concerning to find your pet like this.
In the meantime, there is things you can do to rule out illness over torpor. Move your pet to a warmer spot or gradually increase the temperature of the room they are in to over 20°C and see if activity levels and respiratory rate improves. You should always seek advice from your vet in this instance.