Mushu

Hi! I just received a year old beardie from a couple whose kids were no longer interested. This is my first time owning a dragon but my partner is very familiar with reptiles so is pretty skilled in keeping the vivarium up to good standards. He was already in brumation for a few weeks by the time we got him so it’s hard to resist the temptation to hold and cuddle until he wakes up. He seems happy with the transition so far, and I’ve renamed him Mushu. Hopefully he won’t notice, but I couldn’t come to terms with the previous name! I’ve been frantically searching information on how best to care for him while he’s brumating. There’s so much conflicting advice for these kinds of details, but glad I can have my questions answered here! Thanks for listening to my little ramble

Does he have a hide? Has he woke up at all since you have moved him? The two most important things in the tank are basking temps taken w/ a digital probe thermometer and NO coil UVB's -- you want a long tube for UVB if you need help please ask -- distance and placement is key for this --- you need a weight on him kitchen food scale weigh in grams and keep track of it -- he should be 300+ grams -- since we dont know what kind of shape hes in when you got him make sure hes not losing weight if he wakes up please hydrate him either by bathing him or offering water on top of his nose w/ droplets or syringe -- go slowly if given that route you do not want him to aspirate- he should not brumate longer than 3 months -- tops - if hes sleeping longer than that there is a issue-- you can turn the lights on and off every 8-10 hrs or so - it will give him an idea of day and nite - where is he sleeping? Hot side of tank cool side of tank ?
Karrie

KarrieRee":c5ez95kz said:

Does he have a hide? Has he woke up at all since you have moved him? The two most important things in the tank are basking temps taken w/ a digital probe thermometer and NO coil UVB's -- you want a long tube for UVB if you need help please ask -- distance and placement is key for this --- you need a weight on him kitchen food scale weigh in grams and keep track of it -- he should be 300+ grams -- since we dont know what kind of shape hes in when you got him make sure hes not losing weight if he wakes up please hydrate him either by bathing him or offering water on top of his nose w/ droplets or syringe -- go slowly if given that route you do not want him to aspirate- he should not brumate longer than 3 months -- tops - if hes sleeping longer than that there is a issue-- you can turn the lights on and off every 8-10 hrs or so - it will give him an idea of day and nite - where is he sleeping? Hot side of tank cool side of tank ?
Karrie

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We have a long tube UVB at the top and a basking light on the left side with a heating pad. I keep both lights on for about 10 hours each day. Temperature during the day is 100F warm side, 70F cool side. During night it’s around 80F - 65F. He has a hammock with some foliage and a log underneath to hide on the cool side. He headed straight for the hammock when I first set him in so I’ve let him stay there. If I turn on the lights he will open his eyes for about an hour or so. During this time I offer water with a drip which he doesn’t seem interested in. The last owners mentioned he could be slightly overweight and he is quite wide but I will order a digital scale to keep track of his weight. He’ll also adjust his position occasionally. I set him on his basking side once or twice and after a few minutes he’ll head back to the cool side. He won’t leave the hammock of his own free will so I assume he’s happy there for now. I’ve only had him about a week by the way so I’ll see what he does over the next few weeks