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Oxygen consumption (Vo(2)), thermal conductance (C-min), body temperature (T-b) and evaporative water loss (EWL) of the spectacled dormouse Graphiurus ocularis (A. Smith 1829) were measured at ambient temperatures (T-a) between 5 and 35 degrees C. G. ocularis is not well adapted to high T(a)s and above T-a = 30 degrees C there was a significant increase in C-min and EWL. An elevated T-b above the lower critical limit of thermoneutrality (T-lc) was recorded before more energetically expensive cooling mechanisms were employed. The basal metabolic rate (BMR) and C-min were lower than expected relative to body mass. It is hypothesised that the interplay of lower-than-expected BMR and C-min is an adaptation to scarce and unpredictable food resources. G. ocularis exhibited patterns of torpor intermediate between those of subtropical and temperate dormice.