Are There Types of Brumation?

I know that when we talk about brumation, we generally mean a time when our beardies conk out entirely for weeks or even months. But are there gradiations / variations in this? Do some just "slow down" in terms of activity and eating, and remain pretty much awake?

Figment has been off his dubias for several weeks now; I've tried other feeders, and the only ones he goes for with enthusiasm are mealworms and superworms. He's back to only eating a few mouthfuls of his salads, where he was doing much better for a bit. Usually he looks for the grated squash lumps. He enthusiastically ate pumpkin baby food, when I thought he was constipated, so I've continued to give him some from time to time as a treat and to help keep him hydrated.

Behaviorwise, he's spending most of his days on the warm side of the tank, just splooted out and basking. He'll wander around if I take him out of the hab with an acceptable amount of energy, but in his house, he stays pretty much put. I just got a new Zen Cave for the warm side of the tank, which takes up most of where he usually lay under the heating lamp, so I'm not sure if I need to go get a double-dome fixture to make his basking area bigger. The Zen Cave does have a slate top for basking, and if I put him up there, he'll happily stay for a while - but I've yet to see him go up on his own.

The most puzzling thing is that at intervals - every couple of weeks - he'll go into his cool side cave and sleep, not coming out for 24-48 hours. And his pooping is wayyyy off. He had a big one last week, but nothing since then...

His weight is good and hovering around the 588 - 590g mark. Temps are acceptable levels for an adult beardie, 75 ambient on the cool side right now and temp gun showing between 93.4 and 108 in his basking area (93.4 on the floor, 108 on top of the Zen Cave) - though he seems to move himself around to get to exactly the temp he likes. His UVB is a 14% Arcadia T5, 24" in a 48" long Zen habitat, positioned in the front middle of the hab.

So is Figment just slowing down for the season in his own way, or should I be concerned?

He sounds like mine--- Hiccup will disappear into his cave for 3 days and sleep -- I feed him every day and hes not eating much either -- a few butter worms and a horn worm or two but no insects and no salads which that is normal -- Blaze hes eating more than Hiccup - he will eat roaches and supers a few bites of salad a horn worm and a few butter worms -- pooping Hiccup hasnt pooped for a while but w/ him not eating a whole lot that is to be expected -- Blaze took a huge poop last week and it looked really good so they seem to be ok - I offer them water every so often -- and they are both lazing around but also moving around - they both bounce from the basking area to the mid part of tank where the UVB is -- both alert etc--- I am keeping track of their weights as well -- Blaze had a small amount of parasites when he was into vet in August I did not medicate as the count was not high enough so I have been keeping an eye on the poop and when he pooped last week I know it has not gotten any worse since it looked like good poop -- in fact I havent been able to smell it -- normally you can smell when they have pooped and there basically was no smell -- I work in the room the tanks are in -- so I was surprised there that he had pooped and didnt know it til going over to the tank and seeing it :shock:
Karrie

Yeah brumation happens to different extents between dragons (and seasons). Some of them will sleep a bit, wake a bit, sleep again. Some will pass out for weeks on end. Some just kind of slow down and eat less, poop less frequently and have low energy levels. They all have their own unique cycles and that's OK. It sounds like Figment is just in a slowed down phase for now.


Moved by moderator from General Discussion to Behavior.