My baby beardie is brumating, should I stop him?

Hi,

My husband and I just got our first bearded dragon a couple of days ago. I believe he is brumating and I don't know what to do. From his size I'd say he is about 3 months old. The first night we thought he was dead he was sleeping so still, but then with a few pokes he started breathing again. He didn't eat much the first two days and I just figured it was due to stress in a new home. Then yesterday he finally found his hideaway and buried himself under the paper towel in there to nap and didn't wake up until his lights turned on this morning. When I gave him his first feeding this morning he finally had a good appetite (which I'm so glad because he's a bit dehydrated and still won't let me touch him very much so I couldn't give him a bath, but he finally ate some veggies which I had put water on). But shortly after feeding him he went back into his hideaway to nap. I read online you shouldn't let babies brumate so I don't know if I should go wake him up or not. I'm worried he didn't have enough time to properly digest his food. I'm so new at all this and I keep worrying I'm going to do something wrong All advice so welcome!!

Yes this is not good--- its good he ate but he needs to be basking -- please post pic of him his tank and lighting --- https://www.beardeddragon.org/useruploads/ click on XIMG at top of message box then click on pic it should post
Please tell us what your basking temps are and how you are taking them infrared heat gun digital probe or stick ons? What is the UVB you are using is it a coil or a Tube?
Karrie

His basking temp is 100F, this was the warmest I could get it with the current weather (we live in eastern Canada). The problem is our apartment has plaster walls and the majority of our heat is controlled by our landlords mother downstairs. There is an electric baseboard right beside the tank and I keep that going to keep the room warm. As you can see in the picture I also put a blanket against the back of the tank to help insulate it. I also bought a 150 W basking bulb to help with the temp. His cool side is at 80F. I am using the stick on thermometers (you can see them in the pics). The UVB is a tube, it's the one that came in the 40 gallon tank Zoo Med starter kit.

I went and checked on him after your post and he wasn't actually sleeping in his hideaway (so hard to see inside that rock lol). So maybe he was just cooling off? I'm so new to this and don't want to mess up lol

Ok the stick ons are no good for temps -- you need to get this a digital probe from petco or petsmart for like $5 -- please get one ASAP the stick ons are only ambient temps and you need actual basking temps of where hes sitting - he will not eat w/ out proper lighting and temps-- he should have basking temps of 105-110--- temp gauge like this https://s7d2.scene7.com/is/image/PetSmart/5176729?$sclp-prd-main_large$
the next thing is a long tube fixture like this
https://s7d2.scene7.com/is/image/PetSmart/5142800?$sclp-prd-main_large$ I recommend a 24" fixture it can take either a T 8 bulb or a T 5 - the T 8 would need to go into the tank approx 8-10 inches from basking decor --- a T 5 would need to be 12-15 inches from basking decor - this one can sit on top of screen but it would be need to be 8-10 inches from basking decor IF the screen is WIDE HOLE if the screen is a fine screen like a screen door it would need to be 6-8 inches from basking decor -- at this point beings hes in a 40 gallon tank hes getting NO UVB --- those coils are bad!! Please get a new UVB ASAP- I would give you websites to order from but you are in Canada and they dont ship outside US -- hes gonna go thru relocation stress which is normal but the temps and lighting will effect him as well -- its good he has eaten but he needs to bask not hide -- I forgot to show a pic of the bulb here is what it looks like
https://s7d2.scene7.com/is/image/PetSmart/5123303
Karrie

This is so stressful! I currently live in the middle of nowhere and only have one vehicle until winter parking ban is over (we moved here temporarily for one year and I really don't like it here). I won't be able to get to a petsmart for maybe a few days. There is a petstore here in town but I don't know if they have the right stuff. They do tend to carry a good amount of reptile things so I will go look today. I really miss living in the city!

Yes its a bummer when your out in the middle of no where --- go look see what you can find - you can also order on line -- try amazon---- and I can say your gonna want to start ordering insects and worms etc on line as well - what are you feeding for greens --- salads --- please no pellets --- here is a website for nutrition - hes gonna need a fresh salad every day
http://www.beautifuldragons.com/Nutrition.html its gonna say kale is no good to feed it is good please you can feed it --- they need to update the list but for the most part you can go off of it -- I have tips to get him to eat for the most part he he will eat insects and they need to be dusted w/ calcium D3 5 x per week along w/ vitamins 2 x per week -- so for now lets work on getting the lighting fixed --- and the temps up you want him out and basking --- it looks like the tank is on the floor -- I would get him off the floor onto a dresser or some sort of stand thats gonna help w/ the temp in the tank -- the floor is cold
Karrie

Unfortunately there is no where else in the apartment to put the tank, it's a small apartment, but I can see what I can do. He is eating meal worms for his source of protein. I wanted to give him some crickets too but they were a little too big for him. As for greens I've been giving him kale, yellow bell pepper, and cucumber. I put a couple of pieces of strawberry in there as well hoping that would help him find his food dish and want to eat. I do also have calcium and vitamins for him. We did a lot of research before we got him but the thing is there is so many varying opinions online that some things were hard to know what was best. Like the bulbs we have were what came in the tank so we thought they would be good for him lol. What should I do with the empty slot?

Ok I am going to give you a website that is for insects and other stuff there in
Canada - go to this website and look ---
www.https://thewormlady.ca/bearded-dragon-greens.php
No more meal worms for now please get some BSFL also known as phoenix worms - some butter worms look at the right side of page and find 7 top live feeder insects --- those are for the bearded dragon - that site has lots of info on it --- the phoenix worms can be ordered large - these you dont need to dust - he will eat alot of them so order alot if your going to feed as a staple - crickets are such a hassle - it is too bad Canada does not allow dubia roaches -- I am wondering if some people are smuggling them in they are a better feeder and they are nothing like cockroaches -- no more cucumber please it has no nutritional value and will give him watery stools--- look at the nutritional website I sent and go from there fruit only on occasion he mainly needs greens and insects -- 80/20 ratio w/ bugs being the 80% - order some small super worms and some silk worms if she has them - the supers you can put on top of his salads to get him to the bowl to eat his vegies - get a glass bowl that the worms etc cant get out of - you can feed as many phoenix worms as you want and I would also feed him crickets too - just dont leave them in the tank - they come out at nite and bite the dragon and can cause infection - silk worms are a good staple feeder as well - see if she has some and if you order them make sure you get chow as they eat alot --- only use 1-3 super worms on the salad you want him to eat the salad too and they can get addicted to the worms and only want them -- work on getting the lighting -- that UVB and your basking temps up - just leave the empty slot for now - what are you using wattage for the basking now?
Karrie

Hi there, you've gotten a lot of good help from Karrie. Can you post a few pics of the baby himself ? There's a good chance that he's going through relocation stress which will affect his activity level and appetite. Hopefully he was not from a sick batch of babies. As for the uvb that came with the kit, you can leave in the one you have, any bit is better than none so go ahead + use it. They are not harmful, they're just weak. Please post pics of the baby though, it can show us if he looks like he's ill. Try not to worry too much, you gave him a good set up and the only thing needed the most right now is a long tube uvb light.

KarrieRee:

Thank you for all the links! I just went to the pet store here in town and turns out the did have a variety of insects, they were just all in the back so I thought they only had large meal worms. I got a better UVB bulb and she recommended the red basking bulb to help with the heat. I also got a digital thermometer.

AHBD:

I'll try and get a pic soon, I honestly think he might just be hiding from me lol. When I came home he was basking, but when I left the room for a sec and came back he was hiding again lol. I do plan on taking him to the vet next week for a check up.

O.K, good on the new uvb bulb . It does sound like relocation stress. When I raised babies I never kept a hide in the tank, it can make them fearful + delay the transition to being comfortable. I would recommemd letting the baby settle in for a while before a vet visit, see how he does after he starts eating + getting good uvb. BTW, for extra heat you never need a red bulb, those are just money makers for the pet store. Just get this kind from Walmart. A 4 pack of these cost less than a red bulb which beardie don't need.

https://www.beardeddragon.org/media/29993/full

Ditch the red bulb -- they are harmful to the eyes- take it back - what did you get for a UVB?
Karrie

Thanks for all the advice. Here are a couple of pictures of Blue

He's cute- what UVB did you get?
Karrie

SnowStorm03
DON'T PANIC (Think Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy) :wink:
I had a lot of trouble getting my UV lighting squared away. My (at the time) baby dragon went a couple of weeks with only a coil bulb (4" over his basking rock). He didn't die, didn't get MBD, didn't go blind (Oh, boy can he see! :lol: ), and he's perfectly fine & healthy today--3½ months later.

You can save some energy/conserve heat and raise temperatures (with less wattage) by insulating that tank. Half-inch rigid foam (pink, blue or white) insulation from a home improvement store on 3 sides and half of the top of the enclosure. If you can't find/get rigid insulation, you can use corrugated cardboard (like I see you have) several layers thick.

The strawberries are fine; just be aware that some berries can have a mild laxative effect.
If your grocery/supermarket has a salad bar, that's a good way to get samples/smaller quantities of a lot of greens & vegetables to try without having to buy enough to feed an army and then having to toss most/much of it.

Just saw the pics as I was typing. He looks just like my ZaRDoZ.