Brumation

Unlike true hibernation, brumation does not involve deep metabolic suppression — brumating reptiles occasionally move and even drink water during warm spells. Reptiles must achieve a critical body fat reserve before brumation; if they enter it underweight, they may not survive. Climate change is altering brumation timing, creating phenological mismatches between emergence timing and food availability, threatening population fitness in already temperature-sensitive ectotherms.