Brumation or sick?

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Hello, I currently have a bearded dragon named beaker. he is 9 months old and around 18 inches from tip of his nose to tip of his tail. I believe he is brumating because he sits in his hide all day, does not eat and does not drink. he is dark most of the time unless he is asleep. he has been doing this for around two and a half months now. I am quite worried that something is wrong. but whenever he comes out he seems to search for a dark place to crawl under. sometimes I will bring him into his basking lamp and he sits there and basks for a good amount of time ranging anywhere from 20 minutes to even around an hour. Thank you for your help!
 

KarrieRee

BD.org Sicko
Beardie name(s)
Hiccup he is 6 and Blaze is 4
Can you post pics of your tank and lighting -- we need to rule that out first to see if there is an issue there --- for 2 months he hasnt eaten or drank --- my guess he is dehydrated now - get him out put him in a bath and see if he will drink --- weigh him - did you have a weight on him before he started this behavior? Does he look like hes lost weight? You can use a kitchen scale and weigh in grams please-- if hes 9 months old he is too young to be doing this type of behavior its possible but not normal -
https://www.beardeddragon.org/useruploads/ click on XIMG at top of message box then click on pic and it should post
Karrie
 

BeakerARand19

Member
Original Poster
KarrieRee said:
Can you post pics of your tank and lighting -- we need to rule that out first to see if there is an issue there --- for 2 months he hasnt eaten or drank --- my guess he is dehydrated now - get him out put him in a bath and see if he will drink --- weigh him - did you have a weight on him before he started this behavior? Does he look like hes lost weight? You can use a kitchen scale and weigh in grams please-- if hes 9 months old he is too young to be doing this type of behavior its possible but not normal -
https://www.beardeddragon.org/useruploads/ click on XIMG at top of message box then click on pic and it should post
Karrie[/quote
107161-9914102950.jpg
 

KarrieRee

BD.org Sicko
Beardie name(s)
Hiccup he is 6 and Blaze is 4
Ok the first thing I see is the UVB -- I am assuming that is a T 8? It needs to be inside the tank approx 8-10 inches from his basking decor - no cover on the bulb --- if there is one take it off--- what are in the 2 domes ? His basking temps should be 105-110 and taken w/ a infrared heat gun or a digital probe-- they are the most accurate -- but the first thing you need to do is get that UVB in the tank - the screen is blocking 30% of those rays --- what kind is it brand and bulb? You can hang the fixture w/ long plastic zip ties - 3 M velcro fasteners - fishing line - picture wire hangers - shoe laces- boot laces - but it needs to be in the tank
Karrie
 

BeakerARand19

Member
Original Poster
KarrieRee":g9vjr1zo said:
Can you post pics of your tank and lighting -- we need to rule that out first to see if there is an issue there --- for 2 months he hasnt eaten or drank --- my guess he is dehydrated now - get him out put him in a bath and see if he will drink --- weigh him - did you have a weight on him before he started this behavior? Does he look like hes lost weight? You can use a kitchen scale and weigh in grams please-- if hes 9 months old he is too young to be doing this type of behavior its possible but not normal -
https://www.beardeddragon.org/useruploads/ click on XIMG at top of message box then click on pic and it should post
Karrie
I don’t believe he is dehydrated. I give him 20-30 minute baths once a week. He doesn’t drink during them but I’ve heard that they can absorb water through their vents. I do not have a scale at home. But he doesn’t have seemed to lose much weight he is on the skinner side I think. I will be able to upload more pictures of him tomorrow. But I do have some recent pictures. I just read your post I believe it is a T8 but I can’t remember I will work on getting better UV and hanging it the domes are a CHE and a high power basking bulb with UVA. I looked it up he is showing exact symptoms of UVB deficiency I am so happy I found this site! Can’t wait to see him out and running again! Thank you very much!
 

KarrieRee

BD.org Sicko
Beardie name(s)
Hiccup he is 6 and Blaze is 4
He is not eating because he is not getting the UVB he needs to absorb the rays to digest his food -- mainly calcium---- he wont last long w/ out it - he will get sicker as time goes on --- you need to get that in the tank ASAP- he will start to develop MBD along w/ other health issues--- 2.5 months of not eating is not good for a juvenile dragon --- here is a website for nutrition
http://www.beautifuldragons.com/Nutrition.html
here are some other websites for other worms that can be ordered
BSFL - another great staple feeder they do not need to be dusted w/ calcium as they are enriched
https://symtonbsf.com/
www.abdragons.com
www.dubiaroaches.com
www/rainbowmealworms.com
www.mulberryfarms.com
Karrie
 

BeakerARand19

Member
Original Poster
KarrieRee":2fbhbbkk said:
He is not eating because he is not getting the UVB he needs to absorb the rays to digest his food -- mainly calcium---- he wont last long w/ out it - he will get sicker as time goes on --- you need to get that in the tank ASAP- he will start to develop MBD along w/ other health issues--- 2.5 months of not eating is not good for a juvenile dragon --- here is a website for nutrition
http://www.beautifuldragons.com/Nutrition.html
here are some other websites for other worms that can be ordered
BSFL - another great staple feeder they do not need to be dusted w/ calcium as they are enriched
https://symtonbsf.com/
http://www.abdragons.com
http://www.dubiaroaches.com
www/rainbowmealworms.com
http://www.mulberryfarms.com
Karrie

I won’t be back home until tomorrow afternoon my mom is looking over him I’ll see what I can do most likely I will have to just hang it from the screen for a day or two. I will get him to eat he had quite the healthy diet before this happened so at least I had one thing right Lol
 

BeakerARand19

Member
Original Poster
KarrieRee":jpmhm5pg said:
He is not eating because he is not getting the UVB he needs to absorb the rays to digest his food -- mainly calcium---- he wont last long w/ out it - he will get sicker as time goes on --- you need to get that in the tank ASAP- he will start to develop MBD along w/ other health issues--- 2.5 months of not eating is not good for a juvenile dragon --- here is a website for nutrition
http://www.beautifuldragons.com/Nutrition.html
here are some other websites for other worms that can be ordered
BSFL - another great staple feeder they do not need to be dusted w/ calcium as they are enriched
https://symtonbsf.com/
http://www.abdragons.com
http://www.dubiaroaches.com
www/rainbowmealworms.com
http://www.mulberryfarms.com
Karrie

I won’t be back home until tomorrow afternoon my mom is looking over him I’ll see what I can do most likely I will have to just hang it from the screen for a day or two. I will get him to eat he had quite the healthy diet before this happened so at least I had one thing right Lol
 

KarrieRee

BD.org Sicko
Beardie name(s)
Hiccup he is 6 and Blaze is 4
Once you get that UVB in the tank and a piece of decor directly under it 8-10 inches you will see a different dragon - my guess hes pretty weak from not eating
Karrie
 

BeakerARand19

Member
Original Poster
KarrieRee":33p20hna said:
Once you get that UVB in the tank and a piece of decor directly under it 8-10 inches you will see a different dragon - my guess hes pretty weak from not eating
Karrie

Ok so I came back this morning and did what you said, yet he is still wanting to hide? his light is hanging underneath his screen and has a better bulb (Zoomed T8 10.0) I did get him to eat two supers, he will run around his tank like he has no problems yet he still just wants to crawl under and hide. how long will it take for the UVB to take affect? he still will not willingly crawl up to bask on his own so I have to place him there. I will try to get him in the vet as soon as possible.
 

KarrieRee

BD.org Sicko
Beardie name(s)
Hiccup he is 6 and Blaze is 4
The basking bulb is just that or a all in one bulb? What are your basking temps and how are you taking them? No stick ons! You need a digital probe thermometer- they are most accurate- his temps should be 105-110 - did you get a piece of decor under the UVB-- 8-10 inches--
Karrie
 

BeakerARand19

Member
Original Poster
KarrieRee":h4lfzvu7 said:
The basking bulb is just that or a all in one bulb? What are your basking temps and how are you taking them? No stick ons! You need a digital probe thermometer- they are most accurate- his temps should be 105-110 - did you get a piece of decor under the UVB-- 8-10 inches--
Karrie

the basking bulb is a Intense UVA bulb and is the dual dome it is in there with a Ceramic heat emitter. His temps reach around 110 F. I use a infrared heat gun for the measurement of heat. He does have a hammock to climb on to get to the uvb.
 

KarrieRee

BD.org Sicko
Beardie name(s)
Hiccup he is 6 and Blaze is 4
Ok so the infrared heat gun is good-- have you weighed him? Is he losing weight? What do his poops look like? Runny? Do they have a smell that will drive you from the room?
Karrie
 

BeakerARand19

Member
Original Poster
KarrieRee":ezh8h54s said:
Ok so the infrared heat gun is good-- have you weighed him? Is he losing weight? What do his poops look like? Runny? Do they have a smell that will drive you from the room?
Karrie

He has not pooped in a while because he has not been eating. I have checked his belly and can not feel any types of lumps so I don’t believe he has impaction but his most recent poops have been quite runny with a bad stench. Witch seems like parasites he has seemed to maybe have lost a small amount of weight I will attempt to get him to the vet as soon as possible. I haven’t been able to due to the fact that we have been tight on money the past months.

Update: he is currently basking, this time I did not set him up there! I will continue to monitor his condition and get a vet appointment set up
 
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