Brumation Questions

So I am pretty sure that Riddick has started to go into brumation for the first time. He's just a little over a year old and just hides underneath his basking platform. My question is do I need to leave his lights on for him or can i turn them off. I am trying to survive on a budget after seperating from my husband and if i could turn the lights off, even if just for a few more hours a day, it would save me alot on my electricity.

Thank you.

If he's deep asleep (not waking up to feed, poop, or bask) then yes, it's ok to have the lights off. However, if he's waking up at any point, he needs the warmth and UVB same as always.

if he truly is brumating, you can reduce the number of daylight hours. i wouldn't reduce it all at once by totally shutting off the uv and heat.

here are some things to look for:
- spending less time in the basking zone and more time in cooler areas of the viv
- eating slows down to a halt
- closing his eyes during the day.
- spending time in a cave or darker area of the viv

if you are on a 10-12 hours of uv and heat, you can start by reducing the light and heat cycle by shutting down 2 hours earlier for one week. once the week is up and your beardie is still showing the signs of brumation, you can reduce it another 2 hours for a couple of days. and you can keep decreasing the amount of uv and heat until you get to nothing. i would only go to nothing if you dragon is in a deep brumation. if yours gets up and goes about every so often, then he is not in a deep brumation. he'll need a certain amount of uv and heat.