8 month old Brumation?

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Chiyou

Member
Hey i realize you might get people like me asking this question a lot, I'm having a problem distinguishing whether or not my bearded dragon is brumating. She's about 8 months old and 20 inches long

- She started spending a lot of time in her cave with her head sticking out, sleepily staring out but not sleeping.
- Her diet consists almost entirely of calcium dusted mealworms (she hates crickets now) and the occasional hornworm as a treat. However this past could of weeks she's hardly eaten.
-I never see her drink water but i spray her with mist daily and give her a bath once a week.
-She's hardly been pooing lately
-She's always acted skiddish and generally terrified of me

about my setup, i have a reptisun 10.0 T5 UVB tube lamp and her basking spot (which she never visits) is around 105-110°f the cool side is around 80. I've heard that 8 months is pretty young to be brumating but it does happen.
 

KarrieRee

BD.org Sicko
Beardie name(s)
Hiccup he is 6 and Blaze is 4
Semi brumation my 8 month old did the same thing last year --- but he did come out to bask and he was eating still -- I would suggest you try giving dubia roaches and maybe some BSFL--- dubias you can order on line along w/ BSFL --- here are some websites for you
http://www.dubiaroaches.com
the T 5 where in the tank is it ? on top of screen or in the tank itself?? Its odd she is not basking at all and 8 months is pretty young-- what does her poop look like ? formed and moist w/ white urate or runny? Is she eating salads ? I would hold off on the mealworms --- horn worms are okay --
Karrie
 

Chiyou

Member
Original Poster
Thanks for the reply, I should have mentioned I live in Canada so I can't get dubia roaches (they're banned here) She's getting a little more active but that might be because i am still picking her up daily (should i be doing that?)

The T5 is on top of the tank (shining through a screen) i'll attempt to get it into the tank, but i'm not sure how to do that.. Guess i can get a couple thick zap straps.

She hasn't pooped for the past few days but it's been pretty solid, i think she was having trouble digesting the super worms and getting a bit blocked up so i gave her a deep bath and had a messy clean up a couple weeks ago.

She doesn't eat salads.. I make her one every morning, chop up bok choy, shred carrot, spinkle apple chunks and pollen on top. she doesn't give it a second look (never has)
 

KarrieRee

BD.org Sicko
Beardie name(s)
Hiccup he is 6 and Blaze is 4
You are among others that can't get their dragons to eat their salads-- they need to be started at very first of age of hatched-- you can try this --- first feed salad w/ some sort of treat worm like 3 and some bsfl you can can those in Canada correct? Put them on top of salad make sure they are in a bowl they can't get out of-- let him see you add these on top the movement will get him to bowl-- you can use as many as you want they are a good staple feeder-- let him from bowl for an HR or so then add your crickets or whatever your using for staple feeder-- disable them and put them in bowl-- you can use picture wire -- black zip ties or 3 m makes some hangers too you can look at your local home improvement store-- 12-15 inches from basking spot
Karrie
 

Chiyou

Member
Original Poster
Hey so I can get Pheonix worms (i think those are bsfl right?) but they're ridiculously expensive here $20 CAD for 100 of them and they're super tiny. I've been giving her Superworms (which are very affordable, not quite as affordable as crickets though) because she stopped eating any crickets (she ate a lot when she was younger). I've tried that and many things with the salads but no luck so far, but hopefully she'll get more interested as she ages. Also she has no interest in pellets.. Do you normally wet them? I've even tried the grub pudding stuff.

The last couple times she's pooped we're in the bath, and the poops we're huge.. I'm pretty sure this is because of her not basking properly and also the superworms.. Really out of options trying to figure out how to raise her properly :(
 

KarrieRee

BD.org Sicko
Beardie name(s)
Hiccup he is 6 and Blaze is 4
Can you get discoid roaches in Canada? What about locust? Is she eating salads? She should be eating fresh greens like collard turnip mustard squash there is a website for nutrition on the feeding board--- look at that---- bsfl ( Phoenix worms) should be the biggest you can get-- she is tired of crickets that's why she's not eating them anymore-- the super worms really should not be fed as a staple-- I agree $20 is expensive for 100--- maybe some others on here can give you more ideas
Karrie
 

Chiyou

Member
Original Poster
yeah all roaches are banned in Canada, except the kind you smoke. Locusts too! Turns out Canada is a terrible place to raise an Aussie bearded dragon :( She's never eaten the salad i give her (that i see) and I prepare her one daily. Collard greens are really hard to find at the grocery store here, i can find it sometimes at the wholefoods but there aren't that many wholefoods nearby. i just prepared some butternut squash that i'll add to her salad, hope that makes her interested. There's only one pet store that sells the pheonix worms and they go and grab them from the back. They come in a plastic container and are super small. (she also shows very little interest in them)

Actually I can get roaches, but they're dead and vacuum sealed. they come in 4 for $4.20
 

JumpinJellyfish

Juvie Member
Chiyou":2beqm5qe said:
yeah all roaches are banned in Canada, except the kind you smoke.
???
Can you get silkworms, butterworms, or hornworms? If you can order from the US and ship to Canada (I don't know what the rules are), you can get BSFL from symtonbsf.com, and the others from a few different places. I like Coastal Silkworms, Josh's Frogs, and RainbowMealworms. There's also Mulberry Farms - I just never seem to catch them at the right time for what I need.
 

Jus1More

New member
Hey there Chiyou!
Where in Canada are you located? I am in Toronto and the temps here have got alot colder sooner than normal. My beardie is around 7-8 months old as well and has detected these cooler temps and therefore has slowed down alot and isnt eating has much. He is also hiding more on cooler end of his enclosure under his rock hide.

It is not unheard of for beardies between 7-12 months of age go into semi-brumation, but it also depends on the current temps in your regoin. Since you and me live in a colder region than that would definitely slow down our beardie alot verses a beardie that may live in a warmer region like California right now.

I have also been told that a sick beardie and a brumating beardie can look and act very similar. Try to get a fresh stool sample and take it to a vet that could check for parasites. That way you will know what in fact you are dealing with. And like everything here in Canada being more expensive, vet expenses are not cheap here, but some vets will let you bring in your sample and just charge you for the stool test, which will still run you around $70.

You also mentioned how you can not find roaches here. Again that depends of what part of Canada you live. You could maybe look on Kijiji and see if anyone breeds them to sell. There are a few people here in Toronto that sell them but you have to know where to look. Phoneix worms are a hit or miss here too, but I do know that you can find them at some reptile specialty shops and as well at the monthly reptile expos here. You mentioned also that Wholefoods does not sell turnip greens! Most Wholefood store will sell turnip greens, swiss chard and so on. You could also look at any Metro or Fortino's grocery stores. Also, another option would be to try feeding Repashy's Grub Pie. Some beardies like it and some dont. It is a powder that forms into a gel and provides alot of good nutrients. And then there is feeding a very small live or frozen pinkie mouse to your beardie. It is an excellent source of protein, but I personally have not tried feeding this to my fella as I want to research about this alittle more.

Then as already mentioned by another member, your set up also plays a big factor too. You should have a basking light and UVB light. I currently use the Zoo Med Power Sun 80w, which is a basking and UVB all in one bulb. Some people like this kind of bulb and some people will criticize you for using this bulb. If you decide to get 2 different bulbs, then I would use a Zoo Med basking bulb 75w and then for your UVB, use a Arcadia 12%-T5 or the Reptisun 1.0-T5. Also monitor your temps with a temp gun because those digital temp gauges aren't really accurate IMO.

Try not to stress out which I know is easier said than done. We all want what is best for our little dragons, so asking questions is the only way to learn. Hopefully some of these suggestions will help you. Let me know what part of Canada you live in. If you are in Toronto area I would be happy to try to help out. :)
 
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Clapton is acclimating okay I think. He's quick as lightning so I'm not sure how much I should bring him out of his house yet. He's not at all interested in his salad though. I wonder if I should change what I'm giving him. Least he's eating his crickets.

Things to do:
Buy calcium powder
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