brumating senior girl

My Rosie turned 14 last June. She has been a brumater for most of this time since she became an adult. I have noticed that it may seem like she's asleep but may not be as her eyes are closed all the time. She does eat but lately she has only had one small carrot but today she didn't eat anything. I am in a learning faze because of her age and her being a brumater. Does anyone on here have any experience with a brumating beardie at her age? I am not sure if I should let her sleep or wake her up and feed her. We never know when she will wake up or not. A year ago we went on a vacation and left her home because she sleeps the whole time. That year we found her on her basking rock with her eyes closed. So this last year we took her with us and she enjoyed her time with us and her little sister (Lil Squirt) . A while back I picked her up (thinking she was asleep) and found a black beard on her chin so I realized she was awake and she ate a lot off and on. Now I think she's wanting to brumate but I really don't know if she is or not. I have never had a brumating beardie until Rosie, nor one who lived this long so I'm wondering if anyone here has any experience with a 14 year old senior that is a brumater. I appreciate any thoughts.

Wow, that's a good age and I've never had a 14 year old dragon brumate. Can you post pics of Rosie ? I would leave her lights on but just reduce the hours by about 2 hours. I wouldn't let her brumate for more than 6-8 weeks but at her age I also wouldn't bother her too much during or after. Hydration is more important than food so offer water about every 10-14 days with a syringe or eyedropper or if she drinks during a soak. Rosie has great genetics and a great owner to be around at her age.

I can post pics of her once I locate a good one on this computer. She will put up with me waking her up but lately, she's not been eating as much as she used to. She will allow me to feed her a carrot piece but she won't eat greens or suppers. Thanks for your help\. I've never experienced this before. We are very thankful that she's still with us. Water with a syringe is a great idea. When we give her calcium, I tell her "it's lick lick time Rosie" so she licks the calcium from the syringe until it's gone. She used to drink from a bowl we have in her tank, though I have to hold her until she's done.

To AHBD Here are the pics of Rosie, along with her younger sister Lil Squirt who's eight years old as of June 18 This was taken at the Rim which is near Payson, AZ. They both had a great time and got lots of attention from people there. We had to go back there two days later because Rosie was wondering why she didn't get any attention the day after this trip, which was because we went to a place where my husband could ride his quad runner, he'd been wanting that particular place for a couple of years, and since I can't ride quads anymore, I stay with our vehicle and our girls. Rosie and Lil Squirt are good friends. When we first got Squirticus (a nickname for her) Rosie was brumating (this was about 6 years ago) and when Rosie woke up Squirt was watching Rosie too see how she was supposed to handle outside, as the lady we got her from didn't take them outside.

Oh wow an adventure for the whole family. Who needs to ride a quad when you can sit on the rocks with the girls anyway. :lol: BTW which one is Rosie ?

Rosie is the one on the left. Lil Squirt is bright orange,

Welcome back!

"lil" squirt huh? LOL
I'm not sure there is much left little about her :mrgreen:

To be honest, you are probably the most experienced here on this subject. I've never had a dragon live that long, not many people can say they have. Whatever you're doing is working obviously.

Personally, I'd probably be offering (but not trying to get her to eat) food every day until it's obvious she isn't interested in it. When my dragons brumate, they tuck away and sleep without being disturbed. No food, no water.

IMO, it doesn't hurt to have a few food items available for her if she so chooses to eat, but I wouldn't concern myself with her not eating.

Good job with her

-Brandon

I agree with Brandon, your girls are doing great. Lil Squirt IS on the heavy side so she might benefit from a reduction in insects, Rosie is thinner but has the saggy beard that can come with old age. Rosie has good genetics and good care contributing to her very long life.

When we first got Lil Squirt she was tiny, which, didn't last but a few months. We learned with Rosie that one must get her up daily. This is because one time I picked her up and noticed she had a black beard. So I snuggled her for a while, and, behold, her black beard went away. In prior years we would let her sleep until she woke up in the spring. Now we must wake her up to find out if she's awake or not. She seems to keep her eyes closed most of the time, even when she's awake unless we have her on our shoulder. She doesn't really eat much, sometimes she will eat. Last Friday, for instance, she ate 1 carrot and 3 greens. She was eating a lot in prior months but not a lot lately. I won't let her sleep because she has her eyes closed most of the time.

By the way, Lil Squirt is stubborn with a Capital S. If we know she needs to eat, and she doesn't, we must pry her mouth open to get a carrot or green in. When she eats suppers, it's usually anywhere from 1 to 5, . Most of the time she will eat greens, once in a while she eats both suppers. She laid eggs a lot in years past and ever since the first time she laid eggs, her belly has been that size.