Brumation? Advice Needed!

Hi everyone, I acquired a bearded dragon from a friend who was unable to care for him a few months ago. I believe he is between 12-18 months of age. For the past few days, I have noticed he’s been eating less, hiding, and even sleeping during daylight hours.
After some research, I believe this may be brumation. I have a few other reptiles, however this is my first bearded dragon so I have not experienced this before.

A few questions I have,
-Do I still offer greens and insects daily? (At this age he still prefers insects over greens but I offer both generously)
-Is it normal for him to not come out at all during the day?
-Should I still wake him up to give him a bath, or offer a water bowl? (I know there is conflicting opinions about the water bowl raising humidity)

Any and all advice is appreciated. Thank you in advance!
-Jess

Hi Jess,

How long have you had him now?

We will want to verify its brumation and not something else. Have you gone over your setup with us yet?

To answer your questions though if it is brumation -
1. You can keep a salad in his tank but he likely wont eat or will hardly eat at all. And it wont be every day if he does.
2. Yup normal during brumation.
3. I wouldnt wake him to give him a bath. All metabolic functions greatly decrease during brumation, so the bath is really not necessary at all. Especially of he doesnt typically drink in the bath.

Could you post up a picture of him for us to see?

-Brandon

Hey Brandon,
I updated with pictures.
We’ve had him since July.
We have him in a 40 gallon breeder, a ReptiSun 10.0 fluorescent tube, and a basking bulb. Because we got him on short notice, our fluorescent tube doesn’t span the cage. So we have a another coil UVB which is what the larger dome is. We weren’t sure if she would take him back, and we just got news she wants us to keep him. So we will upgrade that UVB to a full length tube ASAP.
His diet is great, we feed him a variety of mustard greens, spring mix, collard greens, pumpkin squash, carrots and fruits occasionally plus much more. He loves crickets and mealworms, but we also try to get him to try new things such as hornworms and dubia roaches. We put calcium on these regularly.
Also, temperature in the basking area is 99°F. In the cooler area where he’s laying it can be down to 74°F°. Is this too cool? How do I correct if it is?

claudiusx":12g5f6s1 said:

Hi Jess,

How long have you had him now?

We will want to verify its brumation and not something else. Have you gone over your setup with us yet?

To answer your questions though if it is brumation -
1. You can keep a salad in his tank but he likely wont eat or will hardly eat at all. And it wont be every day if he does.
2. Yup normal during brumation.
3. I wouldnt wake him to give him a bath. All metabolic functions greatly decrease during brumation, so the bath is really not necessary at all. Especially of he doesnt typically drink in the bath.

Could you post up a picture of him for us to see?

-Brandon

Click to expand...

It looks like a T 8--- if it's a T 8 it should be inside tank 6-8 inches from basking w/ cover off bulb- bulb needs to be exposed- for better UVB Ray's-- his metabolism is probably slowing down w/ change in weather- so he's not going to eat as much
Karrie

Hi Karrie,
I am reading the packaging for the fluorescent bulb now and it says it is the Reptisun 10.0 UVB 18” 457 mm 15 watts T8. So I believe you’re correct! What would be the optimal bulb to get this guy? Price is not an issue. I want to get what is best for him. I’ll be headed to the pet store in an hour. Thanks so much

KarrieRee":87rvm29d said:

It looks like a T 8--- if it's a T 8 it should be inside tank 6-8 inches from basking w/ cover off bulb- bulb needs to be exposed- for better UVB Ray's-- his metabolism is probably slowing down w/ change in weather- so he's not going to eat as much
Karrie

Click to expand...

The T 8 is a good bulb--- just need to be changed out every 6 months- if you want to upgrade you can go w/ the T 5-- not sure how long your fixture is now looks like a 18 inch-- T 5 fixtures start at 20" I believe- you don't want to go full length of tank tho - 2/3 at most-- the T 5 can sit on top of screen 12-15 inch from basking cover off bulb--- needs to be replaced every year-- that too is a 10.0 bulb
Karrie