Introduction
Brumation is a decently misunderstood aspect of keeping bearded dragons. There is a lot of fear surrounding it. There is a lot of misinformation surrounding it too. But, it is a very natural process for bearded dragons, and one that we just have to trust them to know what they are doing.
Recently, I came across a post on Instagram by a pretty big time breeder. This breeder has outdoor pens for her dragons which allows her to give her dragons some nice outdoor time. What striked me as extremely interesting was her caption on this picture: (permission was gotten from her to post her pictures and her words to this site)
- FairyTail_Dragons_LLC
Thought I would share this photo with the dragon community. This girl has been “MIA” for several weeks now. One day she was out and basking, the next morning she was “gone”. Just a short time ago she made the decision to resurface and bask. She had a number of options provided to her to seek shelter and brumate when she was ready. What do you see in this photo? ***Edit to provide more info since I’m getting so many questions in pm... Yes... This is a natural behavior for them!
No one was going and checking on the dragon every few days. No one was offering it food or water. It just slept, completely intombed in sand for several weeks.
And this isn't the only one of Fairytail's dragons who has done this. This picture was posted a few weeks ago also.
- FairyTail_Dragons_LLC
When you are digging up eggs from one girl and accidentally uncover her brumating house mate.
So, this dragon was also completely buried and sleeping. No mention is made of how long, it could have been a few hours, a few days, or a few weeks. But, she was only uncovered because Fairytail was digging out eggs that another female had just laid. So it must have been fairly deep.
So what is the point of all of this?
Well the point is simply to show that brumation is a natural behavior that dragons have been doing for as long as they've been around. They know how to do it, when to do it, and why to do it. Even if it doesn't make sense to us, it makes sense to them. And, they are not as fragile as one might think while brumating. There is no need to worry about your brumating dragon going a few days or a few weeks without eating. Relax, let nature take it's course, and buy another dragon to fill your free time :mrgreen:
Remember, if your dragon is healthy and starts brumating, there is nothing to worry about. If you have husbandry issues or your dragon has/is sick, you should not just instantly assume brumation.
-Brandon