A Brumating Bearded Dragon Waking Up During Baths??

[Asher3105]

hello! this is my bearded dragons first brumation as he is just recently 10 months old, and he has all the normal signs of brumation, sleeps all day, and does his thing, but, its only been about a week, and I haven't fully turned out his lights since I wanted to give him some chances to poop once more before fully letting him sleep. and despite how he sleeps, like fully asleep all day, he wakes up immediately, he looks all around the room, up at what's on the ceiling, drinks water I drip on his nose, like he hasn't even been fully asleep for the past week. I'm not super concerned, its just kind of strange to me and I'm just wondering if it is normal behavior.

thanks for your time!

 

[kingofnobbys]

My gang are " a bit sleepy " now the cold grey wet wintery weather has set in here in NSW ( AU ) , I'm at Lake Macquarie ( which is about 2hr N of Sydney ) .

Basking most days , still eating ( but I've cut back to 3 feeds / week for my two 3 year old CBDs ) . This a bit of a novelty for us as we've had CBDs for near 10 years and this pair are our first to do this ( I wouldn't describe it as full on brumation ( down for the count for weeks at a time ) .

The advise I recieved from our reptile vet was , if the dragon is younger than 12mnths , best to encourage it stay "awake" and active and keep the food coming ( this give the juvenile dragon a head start in the growth stakes ) , and because a young growing dragon wont likely have the fat reserves to cope with a long brumation.
So the advise was keep the basking light on ( just a shorter photoperiod ~ 13-14hrs ) and for 10mnth old maintain 2 insect feeds per day ( as many insects as it wants ).

Why are are you bathing the dragon ?
Unless it's soiled itself , this is not necessary .

 

[Asher3105]

My gang are " a bit sleepy " now the cold grey wet wintery weather has set in here in NSW ( AU ) , I'm at Lake Macquarie ( which is about 2hr N of Sydney ) .

Basking most days , still eating ( but I've cut back to 3 feeds / week for my two 3 year old CBDs ) . This a bit of a novelty for us as we've had CBDs for near 10 years and this pair are our first to do this ( I wouldn't describe it as full on brumation ( down for the count for weeks at a time ) .

The advise I recieved from our reptile vet was , if the dragon is younger than 12mnths , best to encourage it stay "awake" and active and keep the food coming ( this give the juvenile dragon a head start in the growth stakes ) , and because a young growing dragon wont likely have the fat reserves to cope with a long brumation.
So the advise was keep the basking light on ( just a shorter photoperiod ~ 13-14hrs ) and for 10mnth old maintain 2 insect feeds per day ( as many insects as it wants ).

Why are are you bathing the dragon ?
Unless it's soiled itself , this is not necessary .

hello! thanks for your reply, I was soaking him to give him some chances to poop, since he's pretty picky about going in his tank. he's been denying food, but keeping up a good weight (he maxes out my 200gm scale so I don't know exactly what he's at be he hasn't lost any) and been extremely admit about sleeping, meaning if I place him anywhere in the tank he is back to his hide in like under 20 minutes, sleeping. he just hides all day, and does all the normal brumation things, I did turn out his lights yesterday. but I am considering turning the, back on since he basically hides all the way in his cave, so it shouldn't really matter if I have them off or on. anyways thanks for the reply!

 

[KarrieRee]

hello! thanks for your reply, I was soaking him to give him some chances to poop, since he's pretty picky about going in his tank. he's been denying food, but keeping up a good weight (he maxes out my 200gm scale so I don't know exactly what he's at be he hasn't lost any) and been extremely admit about sleeping, meaning if I place him anywhere in the tank he is back to his hide in like under 20 minutes, sleeping. he just hides all day, and does all the normal brumation things, I did turn out his lights yesterday. but I am considering turning the, back on since he basically hides all the way in his cave, so it shouldn't really matter if I have them off or on. anyways thanks for the reply!

Incorrect basking temps and uvb will simulate brumation - your dragon is too young to brumate- please post a pic of your tank- something is off for him to brumate

 

[Asher3105]

Incorrect basking temps and uvb will simulate brumation - your dragon is too young to brumate- please post a pic of your tank- something is off for him to brumate

hello! I'm sorry for the late reply, I had a really busy weekend.

-he has a t8 Repti-sun UVB which covers 3/4s of the enclosure (if not little more), it is also inside the enclosure, since screen filters the UVB to much
-his warm side is around 80-85 at the lowest point he can go to, and 100-105 at the highest possible point on the stick, since I know they like a good gradient for basking
-his cool side is 72-75 degrees, room temperature for the house, so it can change a little throughout the day

here is a picture as well

this photo is old, so the lay out is just little different, and he is quiet a lot older and bigger, but the lights are in the same positions and sides of the enclosure as pictured

thanks for your time!

 

[KarrieRee]

hello! I'm sorry for the late reply, I had a really busy weekend.

-he has a t8 Repti-sun UVB which covers 3/4s of the enclosure (if not little more), it is also inside the enclosure, since screen filters the UVB to much
-his warm side is around 80-85 at the lowest point he can go to, and 100-105 at the highest possible point on the stick, since I know they like a good gradient for basking
-his cool side is 72-75 degrees, room temperature for the house, so it can change a little throughout the day

here is a picture as well

this photo is old, so the lay out is just little different, and he is quiet a lot older and bigger, but the lights are in the same positions and sides of the enclosure as pictured

View attachment 70559

thanks for your time!

Have you changed out the T 8 bulb? They should be changed out every 6 months I recommend 5- - also I would get a piece of decor directly under your UVB 6-8 inches ---------- I would also work on getting the cool side of the tank during the day up to 80's -- cooler temps make them want to sleep and simulate brumation

 

[Asher3105]

Have you changed out the T 8 bulb? They should be changed out every 6 months I recommend 5- - also I would get a piece of decor directly under your UVB 6-8 inches ---------- I would also work on getting the cool side of the tank during the day up to 80's -- cooler temps make them want to sleep and simulate brumation

hello! I was sure I already replied to this, so I'm very sorry for the late reply. This month is month five of the UVB blub. so I'm definitely gonna replace the bulb, but my local pet store said they wouldn't have it in until this week, so ill probably be able to get it this coming weekend. I'm planning on redoing his enclosure for his first birthday so I can save up some money and do a full remodel, so I will try to apply your other advice with something directly under the UVB. thanks again for your advice and help!

 

[AHBD]

Nice job on your set up, it looks great ! I think if you add another low watt heat bulb about 15" from the main heat bulb you will raise the ambient temp. and your dragon may stay out of the cave.