Brumation lasting too long?

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My bearded dragon went into a heavy brumation this winter. I was worried at first until i understood what he was doing. Now its april 20th and while he has become more active (instead of sleeping all day he will be up for a few hours but goes back to bed around 2pm) he still isn't eating as much as he used to pre-brumation. He used to be able to eat 25 crickets at a time and now I can only get him to eat 2-10 at a time (usually around 5) and he barely picks at his veggies.

I'm in michigan so winter lasted pretty long into late-march and early april, but the past three weeks its been in the 40-70s (much warmer than winter). should i be worried? I don't have a scale to weigh him so i'm not sure if he's lost any weight.

other notes: his cage temperatures seem fine, and i'm using proper lighting, and spraying him with water a few times a day.


so...should i be worried? should i take him to the vet? or is it normal for them to come out of brumation this slowly?
 

diamc

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How old is your beardie? Could you fill us in on the type of thermometer you're using and what the tank temps are? Also, the brand & type of UVB and how old the bulb is as well as the distance of it when your beardie is in the basking spot?

Did you have a fecal checked for parasites before he went into brumation?

How often had you been dusting with calcium & vitamins?
 

kaitlynboone

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diamc":mdytdaer said:
How old is your beardie? Could you fill us in on the type of thermometer you're using and what the tank temps are? Also, the brand & type of UVB and how old the bulb is as well as the distance of it when your beardie is in the basking spot?

Did you have a fecal checked for parasites before he went into brumation?

How often had you been dusting with calcium & vitamins?


He is 2-3 years old. the thermometer is a zoo-med one. his basking temp is about 109-110 F and cool side temp is about 77 F.
the UVB brand is is a repti sen 5.0 and it spans the entire length of the cage. i replace it every 6 months, right now the bulb is about 3.5 months old.
he has a 100 watt basking bulb.
i did not have a fecal checked before he went into brumation. should i do that every year?
i dust all of his food (veggies once a day and crickets 2 times a week, if he'll eat them) with zoo med repti-calcium with D3.

here is a pic of his cage if that helps
89888-474542724.jpg
 

diamc

BD.org Sicko
Staff member
Moderator
Thanks for the extra info. A basking area of 109 to 110 for a 2 to 3 yr old beardie is rather high, that's actually the temp for a little baby. Would suggest you try a 75 watt bulb to see if he will then bask and perk up a little.

Does your thermometer have a long wire & probe end?
 

kaitlynboone

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diamc":uuy7cguq said:
Thanks for the extra info. A basking area of 109 to 110 for a 2 to 3 yr old beardie is rather high, that's actually the temp for a little baby. Would suggest you try a 75 watt bulb to see if he will then bask and perk up a little.

Does your thermometer have a long wire & probe end?

thanks for replying!
what should his temp be? i'll def get a 75 watt and see how that goes. and yes it does have a long wire and probe.
do you happen to know if a the repti sun 5.0 is enough? should i have a 10.0? its pretty close to his basking spot but its also on top of the mesh metal top so could he not be getting enough uvb maybe?
 

traildrifterphalanx

Sub-Adult Member
As an adult he'll want to be more around the 95-105 range for basking temp.
Also, yes, please upgrade to the 10.0 when you can. A 5.0 provides the UVB equivalent of being in the shade with very little sun exposure (think chameleons), meaning he's not getting the strength he needs from the bulb and could be contributing to the lack of appetite and sleepiness.

I just wanted to check, too, does he enjoy the ramp and the sand flooring? The ramp seems a little steep, but dragons all have different personalities so I don't want to recommend changing something he may really enjoy, and sand is generally not recommended as it can harbor bacteria, be accidentally ingested, and can get into their little eyes but some people really prefer sand if they're careful and clean about it. Many alternatives are newspaper, paper towels, non-adhesive shelf liners, repti-carpet, tile, and a few others.
 
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