BRUMATION HELP

My 2 year old boy is going into brumation for the first time since I’ve had him. He’s eating a lot less and naps all day. I’m going to take him to the vets to get a stool sample to check for parasites, but what am I supposed to do to care for him whilst he’s sleeping?

He’s not fully asleep, he just naps most of the day and night but wakes up every now and again. He doesn’t bask, just digs himself a hole and goes to sleep. He’s eaten some veggies and a few bugs in the past few days and had a few bowel movements. I need to buy him a hide that he can sleep in.

What should I do about his temps and his UV? How much do I feed him, if at all? How do I make sure he’s staying hydrated? Any advice would be much appreciated. I should also mention that he’s had a nice bright beard for the past few days and hasn’t gone black at all, but he has shown signs of wanting to be left alone instead of messed around with.

Hello,

Brumation is a frustrating time, because they all seem to do something different.
While there isn't really any technically correct way to do things, most here will agree that
it's good to shorten their days a little bit.
You can decrease his daily light cycle to an 8 hour day & a 16 hour night cycle. He isn't
really basking at all right now? Alot of people turn the UVB off but just leave the basking
light on, just for cycle regulation for them. If he gets up & wants to warm up then he will have
the opportunity to do so. If he goes completely down, you can turn his light off for awhile until
he acts interested in getting up. You can offer him water as well a few times per week to see
if he is thirsty.
If he is mostly sleeping, I wouldn't recommend feeding him much during this time so he
doesn't have food in his system. You can definitely try to get a fecal done just to be sure
he doesn't have any issues there while he is going down.
While he is down sleeping, you can just monitor his weight & be sure he isn't losing too much
weight during this time. Usually they lose very little weight while brumating if they are healthy.

Tracie