Brumation

[ATLBeardedDragons]

It is a natural instinct that occurs during the cooler temperatures toward the fall/winter season.... Bearded Dragons can sense the pressure changes in the air/climate as well as ALL REPTILES. They will feed less, get less energetic at times, and want to hide more often and be left alone. Its no need to worry... But sometimes brumation behavior could be mistaken for sickness/parasites. I always get fecals done before brumation time in Dec. I reduce my lights:

WEEK 1 : FROM 12 hours on.... TO 10 HOURS ON
WEEK2 : From 10 hours on..... TO 8 HOURS ON
WEEK 3: From 8 hours on ..... TO 6 HOURS ON
WEEK 4: From 6 hours on .... To 3-4 HOURS ON.
WEEK 5: LIGHTS OUT , and a Towel/Blanket drape over the whole tank as well.

Make sure to include a nice hiding spot for them to feel comfortable and secure during hibernation/brumation.

Make sure to wake them up every 5-8 days to offer a quick ROOM TEMPERATURE bathe and offer water. No food is necassary.

I Brumate for 3-4 weeks usually and have always had success. Some breeders brumate from End of November to February! I do not like the idea of them living off of their own body fat for more than 25 days at all...

NOTE: This is not Starvation and is a natural process that they endure in the wild involuntarily. When woken up.... Within several weeks of fattening up with a HIGH FAT/CALCIUM sufficient diet, they will be READY TO BREED!


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www.AtlantaBeardedDragons.com

sincerely,
ABD

 

[spyder79]

I personally let my adults tell me when they want to go down. Once they choose to shut down I turn out their lights. And typically my adults brumate from mid august/early september through to late January early February and typically lose very little weight.