Deep Brumation?

My 2 usually go into a light brumation. Don't eat or move for a few months. But when you held them, they responded. My female Jet was in, what looked like her brumation. But when I checked her because of no movement, she wouldn't respond. I did everything and nothing. Thought she was gone. Wrapped her in a towel and cleaned her enclosure. I was devastated. It just wasn't sitting right with me. She wasn't stiff, her eyes were not sunken. She did not look dead. Took her out of the towel and gave her a warm bath, still nothing! Kept looking online to see if they went into that deep of a brumation. Final step, went upstairs and took a blow dryer to her. I thought I saw slight movement. Didn't know if my eyes were playing tricks on me. My son comes into the bathroom to find me blow drying, what we thought was, a dead Beardie. Then he saw her move. So we put her enclosure back together and put her back in to finish her long deep sleep. It has been a full day since the scare. I can at least see her breathing now, but shows absolutely no response. I think because of this artic temperature we are having, that she went so deep. We moved her to a much warmer room and I am keeping her heat lamp on. She is about 7 years old and healthy looking girl. Should I try harder to wake her or let her be as long as she is breathing. It is really scary that she will not wake with any touch. Do they really go that deeply into brumation? What should I be doing? TIA

I'm sorry this is happening, no, this is not normal at all. A "deep" brumation means that they sleep without eating or moving for a month or more, which sounds like what your guys actually usually do. A "light" brumation usually involves them sleeping lighting and moving around occasionally and even getting up to eat during the day, and this typically only lasts a month at most.

The problem here is that even dragons who do go into a "deep" brumation where they sleep for months without eating are typically woken up weekly by their owners, simply by picking them up, and they typically give them a warm bath, give them a drink of water, and then put them back in their tanks, and they go back to sleep until the next week, when they wake them up again for another bath and a drink. I've never heard anyone who has dragons that brumate say that they didn't wake right up when they picked them up, and certainly they do not stay asleep after being put in a bath. Something is very wrong here...'

So I take it that you don't wake your dragons up for the months that they brumate? Do you leave their lights on during their brumation?

Can you post some photos of her so we can see her? Any black beard? Wheezing or coughing?

Thanks for your reply. I think she is gone now. No signs of breathing. Tried putting her in a warm bath and nothing.

jomeigs":1a3ica91 said:

Thanks for your reply. I think she is gone now. No signs of breathing. Tried putting her in a warm bath and nothing.

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Oh I'm so sorry...try flipping her over on her back in your hand. They can't breath on their backs. If you get no response then she's most likely gone, though since she already did this once before, I'd not bury her or anything until tomorrow morning if she doesn't respond, you want to be sure. Wrap her up in a towel and put her in her tank until then...I'm so, so sorry.

Just a suggestion, if your other dragon or dragons also brumate for long periods of time as you described, it's a good idea to keep their lights on in their tanks as normally and simply provide them a hide or a cave to go in/under, and also pick a day of the week to take them out of the tank, give them a warm bath and a drink, and then put them back in their tanks. This way they stay hydrated and you know they aren't sick...do not feed them anything though, not until they come out of the brumation. Only clear fluids.

Thank you. I do keep the lights on the normal routine and I do bathe them when they brumate. I have her in her tank with the lights going. I will take her to work with me tomorrow and listen to her with a stethoscope. Thanks again with all your help.