4 month brumation: Eaten very little, still hasn't pooped.

[freddyshouse]

This past January, Freddy went into a full brumation at only 7 months old! It started around January 15; he went into his cave and he slept for 2 months straight! Never came out of his cave once! We checked on him to make sure he was alive but otherwise left him alone and let him sleep.

Two months in (around March 15), we started to get worried, but we noticed he was awake in there with his head lifted up! So we brought him out and fed him some arugula and carrots. He ate out of our hands but ignored his food bowl. He basked on his hammock for a day and then went back into the cave and slept for another 2 weeks... until we took him out again and did the same routine. We bathed him in warm water, fed him a few greens, he hung out on his hammock for a day, and then went right back into the cave to sleep. No poop. 2 weeks later, same thing. Still no poop!

Today (May 3), same thing. This time, he looked especially dark and dehydrated. His brumation is going on 4 months now, so we're getting more concerned as time goes on. His temps and setup are good. I fed him some apples, blueberries, and very wet greens in the hopes that he will finally poop after almost 4 months. I'm wondering if at this point I should feed him something that will really make him go, or just take him to the vet, because I really don't want him to get impacted.

 

[KarrieRee]

First we need to know what your using for lighting -- dragons should not be brumating for months as long as yours and especially a dragon at 7 months old ---- I was told they can brumate at that age but they must be really big --- first off you need to give him a bath --- that might make him poop but I am thinking he is very dehydrated after being that long asleep --- when they are brumating rule of thumb is to get them out every 10 days or so hydrate them and keep a weight on them --- so you know if they are losing weight so the best thing to do is weigh them in the fall before brumation - if they are losing weight there is a issue- so please tell me what your using for a UVB coil or tube and what are your basking temps and how are you taking them? NO stick ons they are inaccurate and only give ambient temps--- does it look like hes lost weight?
Karrie

 

[freddyshouse]

First we need to know what your using for lighting -- dragons should not be brumating for months as long as yours and especially a dragon at 7 months old ---- I was told they can brumate at that age but they must be really big --- first off you need to give him a bath --- that might make him poop but I am thinking he is very dehydrated after being that long asleep --- when they are brumating rule of thumb is to get them out every 10 days or so hydrate them and keep a weight on them --- so you know if they are losing weight so the best thing to do is weigh them in the fall before brumation - if they are losing weight there is a issue- so please tell me what your using for a UVB coil or tube and what are your basking temps and how are you taking them? NO stick ons they are inaccurate and only give ambient temps--- does it look like hes lost weight?
Karrie

Hey Karrie, thanks for replying so quickly! I think his lighting should be good because I checked this forum and got some great responses from you and others back when I was getting him all set up. He's got a T5 HO 10.0 UVB bulb that goes across 3/4 of the mesh top. His basking bulb is a 100W ZooMed. We've got 3 thermometers: one is a ZooMed digital thermometer, we have a ZooMed Repti Temp digital infrared to spot check, and we do have a Zilla adhesive thermometer on the side.

In addition, under the recommendation of the owner of a reputable reptile shop nearby, we have kept a very mild heating pad underneath the tank (outside the glass, not inside) throughout the winter since our apartment is on the cool side. Inside the bottom of the tank we have lined with newspaper and then a thick layer of Reptichips (was hesitant about these but trusted the owner of the shop on this one). He grew up quickly and appeared very healthy with no problems until this. I am hoping the chips didn't make him sick.

At the moment, he's basking and looks back to normal; most of his color has returned and he looks way more hydrated after eating the wet fruits & veggies I mentioned above. He doesn't appear to have lost weight. My worry is that he will once again crawl into his cave and sleep for weeks, like he has been doing for months now.

 

[KarrieRee]

Ok loose substrate is not recommended- too much cause for impaction--- and I am wondering if he has ingested some of them and plugged him up- if he is eating he should be pooping at least a little- I want some others on here to advise but I want to say this if you take him to the vet for x-ray and find he is impacted DO NOT LET THEM DO AN ENEMA-- you need to do it naturally w/ foods- laxatives-- like unsweetened applesauce -- baby prunes-- canned pumpkin etc--- Brandon posted a topic on ENEMAS on the boards at top of topics
Karrie

 

[freddyshouse]

Ok loose substrate is not recommended- too much cause for impaction--- and I am wondering if he has ingested some of them and plugged him up- if he is eating he should be pooping at least a little- I want some others on here to advise but I want to say this if you take him to the vet for x-ray and find he is impacted DO NOT LET THEM DO AN ENEMA-- you need to do it naturally w/ foods- laxatives-- like unsweetened applesauce -- baby prunes-- canned pumpkin etc--- Brandon posted a topic on ENEMAS on the boards at top of topics
Karrie

Ok, I'll look for the post! Thank you!

 

[AHBD]

Hi there, 4 months is pretty long for a 7 month old to brumate but it's not unheard of and shouldn't be too harmful if he's a big dragon. Can you post pics of Freddy to show his size ? Here's how :

https://www.beardeddragon.org/useruploads/ Then use the XIMG to upload them

They can take a while to poo after brumation so that's not unusual. You can give him some natural laxatives like Karrie mentioned, baby food squash + sweet potato work good along with the other things mentioned. Everything should be fine though and I expect that he'll go before too long. Watch to see that he doesn't strain real hard when he poos, then you'd be concerned especially if nothing comes out.

 

[Drache613]

Hello,

We have had a dragon who went into a 5-6 month brumation phase, when he was just shy
of 6 months old & came out fine. So, as long as he is of healthy weight, he should be fine.
I agree, please no enemas, no matter what the vet tries to sell you. They more often than not
cause harm & death than help.
We do need to see pictures of your dragon, along with the tank setup pictures, too if you can
manage to get them.
As suggested by Karrie, please use more natural alternatives to help with hydration & fiber.
Use pureed prunes, sugar free apple sauce, sweet potato or squash baby foods mixed with
a few drops of organic coconut or olive oil should help out.

Let us know how he is doing.
Tracie

 

[freddyshouse]

Thank you guys so much for the replies. We are worried about our little guy. If we do end up taking him to the vet, I will keep in mind not to let a vet give him an enema.

Last night and this morning, I tried feeding him mashed sweet potato with a little olive oil. He didn't take it -- he would only eat a few bites of greens instead. Unfortunately, as I predicted, he crawled back into this cave and went back to sleep for the rest of the day.

Here is a picture of his setup (taken in early January):

Here is a picture from when we woke him up in late March (shows his size):

Here is a picture of him after we woke him up on April 5:

And here is what he looked like yesterday, May 3, before eating. (He looked dehydrated then, but looked better and more vibrant after eating):

 

[AHBD]

Very large dragon ! When they eat like piggies + grow that quickly they have plenty of extra fat for brumation. BTW, are you sure that Freddy is a he ? The smaller head + very chunky belly remind me of a female [ not that that's a definite indicator ] Check to be sure, here's how :

https://www.beardeddragon.org/articles/sexing/

Other than that I don't think you have a problem and Freddy should get back to regular activity soon.

 

[jdspdx]

Beautiful dragon! You might try taking him outside, if it is relatively warm, and let him have a supervised run around. That has worked for me.

 

[freddyshouse]

Very large dragon ! When they eat like piggies + grow that quickly they have plenty of extra fat for brumation. BTW, are you sure that Freddy is a he ? The smaller head + very chunky belly remind me of a female [ not that that's a definite indicator ] Check to be sure, here's how :

https://www.beardeddragon.org/articles/sexing/

Other than that I don't think you have a problem and Freddy should get back to regular activity soon.

That's funny you say that, because we've had such trouble determining Freddy's sex -- there's not really that one bump in the middle but there also aren't two bumps on the sides! We settled on "lack of bump in middle = boy" but we definitely could do another check. Also, we haven't checked since before brumation (so probably December)... maybe he(?) wasn't even developed then.

Knowing the large size can lead to an early brumation makes me feel a bit better. Today, I successfully fed Freddy a pea shoot with mashed sweet potato + olive oil smushed on it. And then he went right back to sleep. Hoping a poop comes soon. I just can't believe the few bites he ate in March and April are still in his system! :shock:

 

[freddyshouse]

Beautiful dragon! You might try taking him outside, if it is relatively warm, and let him have a supervised run around. That has worked for me.

Thank you!! <3 I agree! Unfortunately it hasn't been great outdoor weather lately. Low 40s :?

 

[freddyshouse]

Houston, we have a poop!! After feeding the mashed sweet potato + a little olive oil, Freddy became repulsed by the scent of oil. We couldn't find anything prune-related, but we tried other high fiber fruits like grapes and pear.

Today (after chilling in the hammock the last few days), Freddy was more active than ever! Exploring the whole tank, climbing on and off the hammock, even glass surfing a little... so I figured it was time for a warm bath. This time, I tried the belly massage that I saw some beardie owners do... and it worked! A full poop with urate and everything!

 

[KarrieRee]

With your UVB on top of the screen is he able to get directly under it - I see a little tiny ledge thing does he sit on that? I would recommend a bigger piece of decor for him to get under it approx 8-10 inches --- this UVB is extremely important for him to digest the calcium hes getting in his food and also helping w/ the pooping
Karrie

 

[freddyshouse]

With your UVB on top of the screen is he able to get directly under it - I see a little tiny ledge thing does he sit on that? I would recommend a bigger piece of decor for him to get under it approx 8-10 inches --- this UVB is extremely important for him to digest the calcium hes getting in his food and also helping w/ the pooping
Karrie

He doesn't sit up on the rock much anymore now that he is larger. But when he stands on top of his cave, he is about 7-8 inches from the UVB (the cave is a little more toward the middle now), but I agree that we should have more for him to stand up on over there. Will brainstorm!