Too young for brumation?

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lin66

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My beardie has started showing signs of wanting to brumate but he’s only 8 months old. He’s staying in his Hide all day and hardly eating anything, has no interest in running about or basking. Is he too young? I’ve been dragging him out of his hide for a cuddle and afterwards he’s eating and having short bask before returning to his hide. Should I keep doing this or should I just leave him be?
 

Claudiusx

BD.org Sicko
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Hi there,

How big is your dragon? Has he been pretty healthy and active up until this point?

-Brandon
 

lin66

Member
Original Poster
He’s 50cm. I had him at the vets not long ago as he wasn’t digesting his food very well. She said he had an overproduction of something (I can’t remember what) and gave me antibiotics for him. She said he was otherwise healthy. His last fecal test was fine but he had watery poop for a bit. I was advised on the forum that that was probably due to the antibiotics. That’s settled now but his poop still has undiregested food. He’s healthy apart from that. Always been a great eater and enjoys a run around outside his tank - until the last few days.
 

lin66

Member
Original Poster
Do you think I should allow him to brumate or Should I keep him awake and active - or is another trip to the vets advisable?
 

KarrieRee

BD.org Sicko
Beardie name(s)
Hiccup he is 6 and Blaze is 4
Undigested food is often signs of improper basking temps -- what are they and how are you taking them? NO stickons they are inaccurate
Karrie
 

lin66

Member
Original Poster
He tends to stay down the cool end a lot. I used to keep his thermostat and temp probes on the back wall on the hot side but then I realised his basking spot was too hot so I moved the probes closer to the basking spot And also got a digital thermostat as the analogue proved to be unreliable. I have it set to 39.5 and this is proving to be completely accurate with his digital thermometer. He is basking a lot more now so I was hoping his digestion would improve but it hasn’t made any difference. He still spends more than half his time in the cool end.
 

KarrieRee

BD.org Sicko
Beardie name(s)
Hiccup he is 6 and Blaze is 4
Please post a pic of the tank and his lighting -- https://www.beardeddragon.org/useruploads/
click on the XIMG at the top of message box then click on the pic it should post
We need to rule out the lighting before we go on and if its not the lighting I am gonna haft to enlist some more help
Karrie
 

KarrieRee

BD.org Sicko
Beardie name(s)
Hiccup he is 6 and Blaze is 4
The UVB is what brand and bulb please and how long is the fixture? I cant see it- the rock may be getting too hot I would take that probe and set it on the rock -- get a temp off of that --- your CHE is it on or off?
Karrie
 

lin66

Member
Original Poster
He’s in a 4’ viv with 55cm T5 reptisun tube (14” above his head). It reaches 2/3rds of the way across his tank.
104321-7547215754.jpg
104321-5123759620.jpg

Thank you for taking the time to help with this.
 

lin66

Member
Original Poster
The ceramic element is only on in winter through the night as it’s pretty cold.
 

KarrieRee

BD.org Sicko
Beardie name(s)
Hiccup he is 6 and Blaze is 4
Ok so the UVB stretches from basking side toward the cool side? I am wondering if he's hiding from the UVB- I know they say 2/3rds of tank but sometimes they do hide even then - you might want to try covering up 1/2 the fixture w/ a towel dish cloth and see what his behavior does- if it doesn't change we need to figure out something else as far as issue
Karrie
 

lin66

Member
Original Poster
Thank you Karrie I’ll try that. I’ll keep him from Brumating in the meantime.
 

KarrieRee

BD.org Sicko
Beardie name(s)
Hiccup he is 6 and Blaze is 4
Lets figure out if he is actually in brumation --- it is that time of year and you said hes been doing this for months? Let see if the UVB is what is causing this behavior- they should not brumate for more than 3 months tho ---- too long -- try the covering up and see what happens --- it is trial and error to find out the cause :)
Karrie
 

lin66

Member
Original Poster
I covered part of the UVB but it hasn’t made any difference. Previously he tended towards the cool side but a couple of weeks ago he started hiding there for full days at a time only coming out every 2nd day or when I dragged him out. Then he was refusing his live food, although he would still eat his veggies. Now he hasn’t come out for 3 full days and hasn’t eaten anything. He has eaten since his last poo so I’m thinking I should at least take him for a bath to empty his bowels but beyond that I’m not sure if I should take him to vets or leave him be.
 
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