Vern is about six months old, and I'm under the impression that BDs don't brumate until they're older. But...well...maybe he's precocious.
This is the deal.
We've had him for just over 4 months. He's moved out of his original 20g long tank and into a spacious 2'x2'x4' palace. I have 2 24" reptisun 10 bulbs running the full length of the cage. One of them is just over 4 months old. The other has been used only for about 2 months. There's a basking platform for Vern that is about 10" below the lights, plus a tree branch (okay, it's plastic - but it looks just like a branch) that gets him to about 6" from the UV. It's not quite as warm as the basking area, but it's his favorite place to hang out. Maximum temperatures in the basking area are a little variable for some reason. Some days I measure (with my temp gun) and it's around 108 in spots around the basking light. Other days I get readings s high as 113. But I'm less worried about the high temps since Vern usually likes to move to "bask" on the fake log, where it's only about 95. At the cool end, the temp is around 80. Substrate in the cage is slate. He's never been on sand or any loose substrate since he left the pet store.
Some days, Vern simply does not come out of his hide. Some days he'll only come out because we tempt him out with some juicy crickets. He often will retire to his hide almost immediately after feeding. His appetite is still healthy, although somewhat decreased relative to his once prodigious appetite. But he almost never eats his greens now (and he would always eat his green). We give him 1/2" crickets, and he probably eats between 30 and 40 per day. One feeding per day is supplemented with calcium, five times a week. The other two days we supplement with multivitamins.
It's amazing to me that he eats at all, given that he practically never poops now. We've gone from a time where he would poop very regularly, once per day (sometimes twice) to a time where he poops once every three or four days. This time around, I don't think he's pooped since saturday. Bathing doesn't seem to induce pooping.
Given that Vern is so young, and that he's still prepared to eat, I know he's not likely to be brumating. But I'm also at a loss to explain his change in behavior. He can't be compacted. He doesn't seem to be losing weight. He doesn't seem sick. He's alert and friendly when he comes out and we pick him up. But if he lurks in his hide all the time, he'll surely get sick (unless he's shutting down for the winter).
Any ideas?
Chad
This is the deal.
We've had him for just over 4 months. He's moved out of his original 20g long tank and into a spacious 2'x2'x4' palace. I have 2 24" reptisun 10 bulbs running the full length of the cage. One of them is just over 4 months old. The other has been used only for about 2 months. There's a basking platform for Vern that is about 10" below the lights, plus a tree branch (okay, it's plastic - but it looks just like a branch) that gets him to about 6" from the UV. It's not quite as warm as the basking area, but it's his favorite place to hang out. Maximum temperatures in the basking area are a little variable for some reason. Some days I measure (with my temp gun) and it's around 108 in spots around the basking light. Other days I get readings s high as 113. But I'm less worried about the high temps since Vern usually likes to move to "bask" on the fake log, where it's only about 95. At the cool end, the temp is around 80. Substrate in the cage is slate. He's never been on sand or any loose substrate since he left the pet store.
Some days, Vern simply does not come out of his hide. Some days he'll only come out because we tempt him out with some juicy crickets. He often will retire to his hide almost immediately after feeding. His appetite is still healthy, although somewhat decreased relative to his once prodigious appetite. But he almost never eats his greens now (and he would always eat his green). We give him 1/2" crickets, and he probably eats between 30 and 40 per day. One feeding per day is supplemented with calcium, five times a week. The other two days we supplement with multivitamins.
It's amazing to me that he eats at all, given that he practically never poops now. We've gone from a time where he would poop very regularly, once per day (sometimes twice) to a time where he poops once every three or four days. This time around, I don't think he's pooped since saturday. Bathing doesn't seem to induce pooping.
Given that Vern is so young, and that he's still prepared to eat, I know he's not likely to be brumating. But I'm also at a loss to explain his change in behavior. He can't be compacted. He doesn't seem to be losing weight. He doesn't seem sick. He's alert and friendly when he comes out and we pick him up. But if he lurks in his hide all the time, he'll surely get sick (unless he's shutting down for the winter).
Any ideas?
Chad
