hibernation vs problem

Hi Everyone, i'm new to the Beardie world. (i had a green iguana for the past 21 years) I have a 6 and 1/2 month beardie (i got him in September 2016) who had been happy and healthy. He (i think it's a he..) Has been eating his crickets well and loves his greens and fruits. This past weekend the weather here has dropped to 15 degrees, He has his lights and heat sources but suddenly is choosing to roll a blanket into the corner of the cage and hide. He feels cold to the touch and when i return him to his usual favorite hammock spot he goes back downstairs in his cage and returns to the corner. Is this the hibernation thing? My iguana never did that so i'm a bit nervous. Any help or tips is appreciated.

darkstorm928":1yv8w4tk said:

Hi Everyone, i'm new to the Beardie world. (i had a green iguana for the past 21 years) I have a 6 and 1/2 month beardie (i got him in September 2016) who had been happy and healthy. He (i think it's a he..) Has been eating his crickets well and loves his greens and fruits. This past weekend the weather here has dropped to 15 degrees, He has his lights and heat sources but suddenly is choosing to roll a blanket into the corner of the cage and hide. He feels cold to the touch and when i return him to his usual favorite hammock spot he goes back downstairs in his cage and returns to the corner. <<< I suggest you place a sandwiched 5W or 7W heat pad under his bed, since he has decided this is his bed, probably a good idea to locate a CHE above the spot (which is controlled by a thermostat who's remote probe is positioned very close to his preferred bed location. He can do with hide overtop too.
Is this the hibernation thing? My iguana never did that so i'm a bit nervous. Any help or tips is appreciated.

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He's TOO YOUNG to be allowed to brumate and he's way too cold !

You need to increase the wattage of the basking lamp to keep the daytime tank temperatures and basking spot at the correct temperatures ( ie basking spot about 40degCelsius, warm zone about 32degCelsius (is a good temp) and not cooler than 26degCelsius in the cool zone).
If you have a screen top , get rid of it and replace it with a solid timber (1/2in thick plywood) lid , this will stop warm air being loss from the tank (screen tops do nothing to maintain a good thermal air circulation/ thermal gradient in a tank , warm air is very buoyant and simply rises and is lost to the room where the tank is housed , a solid top will mean you'll get away with a lower wattage basking lamp as it will also insulate the tank.

Also what heating do your provide for the hatchling overnight, IMO if it's allowed to chill overnight (temperatures less than 22degCelsius) it will not be able to process it's food overnight and will have a very low metabolic rate.
You will need AT LEAST a 5W heat pad under his hide (I'd insulate him from direct contact with it)
see viewtopic.php?f=75&t=224976 ,
this is what all my bts and beardies have (7W heatpads for them) under their hides, I set the beardie's heat'slabs thermostats to hold 36degCelsius 24/7.

I live in subtropical coastal Northern NSW in Australia (lat = 33S) so it never gets very cold here, coldest nights in winter are maybe 6degCelsius ,and my house is airconditioned 24/7 in summer and winter ( never cooler than 21degCelsius in our house in winter ).
If you are in a more polar climate , and it's literally freezing outside espec at night you will need a ceramic heat emitter in the tank to help keep the hatchling warm overnight and maybe the heatpad under the hide to help keep your beardie warm overnight.

ADDED >>>>
We had a 4 day power outage a couple Aprils ago (due to a Tropical Cyclone hitting our area) and it was very cold (about 8-10degCelsius) , my lizards all slowed down and hunkered down in their hides while we simply stayed in bed (warmest place in the house - as we had no heating with no electricity and it was dangerous on the roads - lots of power lines and poles blown down as well tree blown down), not long after the power was reinstalled, all the lizards were up and basking when their heatslabs had warmed them up (took maybe 4 hours).\\


I suspect and hope your's will respond similarly once you have tank warmed up sufficiently too, if he doesn't you might need to see a vet.

Thanks for the reply, as of yesterday he is back out and lounging in his favorite hammock spot. Our temp here in Pennsylvania dropped over the weekend to dangerous cold levels and i suspect that was the cause of it. Even with the heat on in the house it was hard to keep this place warm.

darkstorm928":2sc9yk0n said:

Thanks for the reply, as of yesterday he is back out and lounging in his favorite hammock spot. Our temp here in Pennsylvania dropped over the weekend to dangerous cold levels and i suspect that was the cause of it. Even with the heat on in the house it was hard to keep this place warm.

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Definitely need to up the wattage on the basking lamp and - or install a thermostat controlled ceramic heat emitter (mushroom shaped globe that only gives off heat) and maybe a thermostat controlled 5W or 7W heatpad (as described) if it's that freezing cold in your area regularly over winter.
If you have a screen top it's going to be worth the effort to remove it and replace it with a good solid 1/2in thick sheet of plywood (can mount lights under it or cut circular holes for them to shine through if the tank is not very tall).

The screen tops so popular on modified fish tanks used to house lizards in the USA are cheap BUT hopeless wrt keeping the heat created by the basking lamp where you need it , in the the tank , hot air is very buoyant and simply rises and disappears through the screen meaning you need higher wattage basking lamps and more heating to maintain good basking and warm zone temps and to keep the tank warm overnight.