shivering with cold image by Cherry-Merry from Fotolia.com. Shivering thermogenesis is the production of body heat generated by involuntary muscle action during shivering. All mammals and birds have a shivering response, but few reptiles are capable of shivering thermogenesis.hivering thermogenesis is used to heat the body when it becomes too cold. Shivering is usually triggered by exposure to cold environmental temperatures, but the temperature set point that triggers shivering varies among species and individuals.