Semi-Brumation?

[izzbo]

I've got an issue that I'm not sure how to deal with and I want everyone's opinion. I posted this in the Feeding section a few weeks ago but it didn't get much attention and I've learned a bit more since then so I wanted to re-visit and move it to the General Discussion forum. Here's the issue:

Klaude, my bearded dragon is 1 year 3 months old. I've had him since he's been about 2 months old. Starting in late October - early November he started to slow down his eating habits. I assumed it was b/c he was approaching 1 years old and they eat less. But as time went on he stopped wanting to eat at all. This stated about mid November. He is very alert, no black beard, and basks every day. I've already verified his temps and cage setup is okay but I'd be willing to repost the details if that would help.

I've been weighing him for a long time. On 10/01/2011 he was 401 grams. On 11/01/2011 he was 420 grams. On 11/23/2011 again 420 grams. On 12/01/2011 he was 414 grams and today (12/14/2011) he is 406 grams. So he is loosing some weight. I give him regular baths (at least 3 times a week) and give him water from an eye dropper daily to keep him hydrated. I've also been giving him apple cider w/bee pollen and some calcium + D3 mixed in to see if the bee pollen will help his appetite and the calcium b/c I don't want him to get MBD b/c he's not eating. He did poop last week and I brought that into the vet for a parasite check and he was negative.

Here is my BIG question. Could this be semi-brumation? I read that they can do anything from slowing down their appetite to sleeping for a month. I'm sooooooooo close to bringing him into the vet but I know they'll want blood work done and I don't want to put him through extra stress for no reason at all. Can you all please tell me your experiences w/this and if anyone has been through something similar? Or do you think I should bring him to the vet? The money for the vet isn't an issue, I just don't want to stress him out if I don't need to. I'm one to say, listen to his biology. He knows when he needs to eat and when he doesn't, and if he doesn't have parasites then trust him. But I'm worried about him and don't want to wait until it's too late if something's wrong.

 

[izzbo]

Well I decided to bring Klaude into the vet tomorrow just to be sure nothing is wrong with him. I really didn't want to do it but since this is my first beardie and no one's really said they've had similar experiences I'd rather be safe than sorry and it would ease my mind to know he is okay or at least I am now doing something to help if he is ill. I'll post an update when I get back in case someone stumbles on this thread in the future and is having similar issues or if anyone currently on the board is interested in what is going on. I'd still be happy to hear if anyone has gone through a similar thing b/c the more information I have the better. Thanks everyone!

 

[Bwalter]

I had the same worry as you have right now. My girl, who turned a year old last month has been half in and out of brumation for a couple months now. Every few days to a week she wakes up, maybe eat 1-3 roaches and then a bath and back to sleep. This is my first beardie so I worry but now after 2 months I am starting to relax about the whole brumation thing. Hope this helps a little.

 

[Sierra1167]

I have 4 beardies and all but one is doing some variation of brumation.

Sezja was eating less but out and about until last week when I gave her a nice big cave. Now she is just vegging out in there.

Ray has not really eaten in about two months. I give him baths, water, and have just started giving him chicken baby food mixed with Reptaboost twice a week.

Drago has been pretty much asleep for over a month now. I wake him for a weekly bath and he goes right back down.

I guess I said all that to let you know that someone else is going through this and understands. I was pretty freaked at first, but now I just make sure they have what they need when they sense they need it. I am still keeping a small dish of pellets and a fresh salad in the tanks whether they are eating or not....just in case.

 

[izzbo]

Thanks for the words of encouragement guys! I brought Klaude to the vet yesterday. He got a clean bill of health. Actually the doctor said he was in top shape, nothing physically wrong as far as he could tell. I didn't do a blood test b/c it wasn't brought up and I don't want to poke him unless I have to. The doctor said he thought it was brumation. We have to keep and eye on his weight and he has a follow up checkup in 2 weeks just to see how things are progressing. He said if he starts to loose a lot of weight we'll have to start feeding him baby food. I'll keep everyone up to date.

 

[Alice08]

My beardies have started to slow down (like lots of others on here I see) so I have started to reduce uv time however I'm not sure if I should also be turning down the temperatures a little too? I've read some caresheets that say you should but annoyingly they don't tell you by how much. So does anyone here reduce their temps and by how much?

 

[111lp]

i've had my beardie for over 2 and half years and he's never brumated, do i have to reduce his temps to tempt him into brumation or do they just do it by instinct? and then do i reduce the temps?

its a bit of a weird one to understand, cause i got told if they dont show any signs leave them as they are.

 

[Sierra1167]

My temps automatically got lowered because of winter setting in and the house is cooler. It runs about 85-90 most days. It is my understanding that not all beardies brumate and, since it isn't really necessary, to just let them do what they want. I am not sure about the effects of brumation on breeding though. I am sure someone experienced in that area can chime in on that aspect of it.

To the OP...I think the babyfood is a good idea if he is losing a lot of weight. I am currently giving Ray a bit of chicken baby food mixed with Repta-Aid(mistakenly posted before that it was Reptaboost) every other day. He seems to be holding steady. I haven't done this with Drago because he doesn't seem to be losing much weight at all.