4 month-old bearded dragon brumating?

Hello! My beardie is (I think) around 4 or 5 month old and he has been quite lethargic lately. Atm he is 31 cm (12.2 inches) and he hasn't been eating almost at all lately... I was feeding him dubias and mealworms and fresh salad every day (endive, collard and green beans daily, and from time to time some carrot or aple). Now, he eats no bugs whatsoever and almost no salad.
In the last days he has been sleeping a lot more during the day. The lights are on from 6:30 am to 7:30 pm, but he starts "getting ready to sleep" at 4:30/5 pm. I have been keeping track of his weight and he keeps marking the same as on the 4th November (105 g).
He's still pretty active in the morning; he comes out of the "towel burrito" and basks for a few hours, but during the afternoon, he gets on his hide and sleeps, and I have to get him out so that he'll bask.
He poops once or twice in the morning everyday and the poops look healthy.
I let him run around for a bit and peek at the window everyday, also so that he can perk up a bit.

This has been going on for a week now.

I've been reading that he is too young to be brumating and I'm starting to get a bit worried that he is doing so and this will affect his growth. I also saw somewhere that this could be a "winter slowdown" and it could be normal on beardies younger than 1 yo... Is this a reason to worry, or this behaviour normal? Will it afect his growth?

Temps: 39-40 celsius (102-105F) (possibly at 41 celsius (106F) right under the lamp) basking spot and 25 celsius (77F) on the cold spot. Around 25 celsius at night
Enclosure: 80x35x32 cm
Lighting: Trixie basking spot lamp 75W and Exoterra Reptile UVB 150 13W (compact- yes, I know the tube ones are the best, but I can't find them ANYWHERE (either Exoterra or ZooMed) in my country and through Amazon they get really expensive and until I get the money, I figured these are better than anything, even recording to reviews)

I have a few pics of him from yesterday. Meet Jojo: https://imgur.com/a/Xp9seJI

He looks pretty good based on those photos. If he is active in the mornings, that's also a good sign. While young for brumation, it's not unheard of for them to go through some slower phases in which they go to sleep earlier and eat less. Since his weight is stable, I wouldn't be too concerned but keep monitoring that.

Your temperature gradient is good but your UVB light is not adequate. The 13w version of those compact bulbs just isn't powerful enough for a bearded dragon. Can you get the 26w version? That would be the minimum I would use for a bearded dragon and even those need to be about 15-20cm above the main basking area to be effective.

CooperDragon":1gntucug said:

He looks pretty good based on those photos. If he is active in the mornings, that's also a good sign. While young for brumation, it's not unheard of for them to go through some slower phases in which they go to sleep earlier and eat less. Since his weight is stable, I wouldn't be too concerned but keep monitoring that.

Your temperature gradient is good but your UVB light is not adequate. The 13w version of those compact bulbs just isn't powerful enough for a bearded dragon. Can you get the 26w version? That would be the minimum I would use for a bearded dragon and even those need to be about 15-20cm above the main basking area to be effective.

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Thanks for the reply!

I will certainly try to, but until I get a part-time (looking for one atm) it's hard for me get one. Reptile things can get expensive around here...

And do you know how much time a slowdown like this can last (if it is one)? When should he start being more active again?

It's hard to say. The cycles vary each time and are different between dragons. Just keep monitoring weight and make sure that is staying steady.

CooperDragon":el55yefg said:

It's hard to say. The cycles vary each time and are different between dragons. Just keep monitoring weight and make sure that is staying steady.

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Thank you! Will do. Happily, he was marking the same today as well.