baby beardy brumating

[leah1024]

I have 5 beardys total and 3 are babies. One baby in particular seems to be brumating. I know this is not normal but is it possible? It started the same time as my adult female did and they r in separate aquariums. It is approximately 7 months old and is otherwise in perfect heath.but it hides in beading on cool side of aquarium and sleeps all day. It is only up if I wake it and put it under its light with the other ones it hangs for feeding and a few hours after then right back to cool side to sleep. I don't know what I should do.

 

[diamc]

Hi, it would be a good idea to go over your setup to rule some things out before it is decided that it is brumation. Could you give us the details of your basking & UVB bulbs, the size of the tank, temps, what type of thermometer you're using, what substrate you have, etc. Also, is the beardie housed with others or in a tank by itself?

 

[leah1024]

I have been over it on here before but ok reptisun 10.0 basking 110 to 112 degrees 30 gal tank cool side 80 to 85 degrees dust crickets daily. It waves at something alot too nothing particular tho..the other 2 are happy with everything been raising beardys from babies 3yrs now I had one do it to me last year too but she was following the adult that was in with her this one is with 2 other babies. She was doing it before I put any substrate in hiding under plants and newspaper. The subtrate now is still paper.

 

[diamc]

Sorry, but I still have a few more questions. Is the Repti-Sun 10.0 a compact or strip fluorescent tube? What type of thermometer are you using and where exactly are you getting the 110 to 112 reading?

If he/she is waving a lot, sounds like dominance issues going on. Usually at 7 months old, they are in the puberty stage and could be stressed out from being with the other 2 beardies. Also, even though a 7 mo old is still pretty young, they can breed at such a young age so would be a good idea to check on the sex of them to make sure females aren't in with a male.

How often are you bathing them?

 

[leah1024]

Its a strip light and I bath the adults 1-2 times a week and the babies have a water dish they actually swim in but I still put them to soak once a week...i have a digital therm. I think ur right about the dominant part..the last couple days I put the bigger of the 3 in with adults he was a male and the one I'm having trouble with is a female.i made a couple changes with lights remove one and dropped strip light in closer. This morning the little one came to bask all by its self. First time in 2 weeks. So we mite be ok except now the little male is trying to breed with the big females. I have what I need to start breeding was hoping not to start till spring tho...thank you for ur help

 

[Taterbug]

Glad your little one is coming out to bask now. I'm a little concerened about your housing situations... Especially if you plan to breed, hopefully you have more enclosures.

3 7-months olds in a 30 gallon sounds crouded, and keeping little ones with with (several?) adults sounds dangerous. I'd be worried about the little guy if the girls get rough about refusing his attention.

 

[diamc]

That is good that the young female is coming out to bask now. Great that you're using a strip light. It would be a good idea to see what is stamped on the UVB light to find out if it is a T5 (high output) bulb or a T8 as each one has different distance requirements.

Is your digital thermometer a strip or does it have a long wire & probe end? Where exactly are you getting the 110 to 112 reading?

I agree with Taterbug that a 30 gallon tank is too small for three 7 month old beardies. Even though they have been together for a while, they can turn on each other very quickly especially in such a small space. Also, moving them around to another tank is not a good idea since each time something in their setup is changed, it causes stress. Putting a 7 month old with female adults is a big concern. A 7 mo old male may be thinking about breeding but he isn't fully developed yet so it could cause him some health problems, not to mention the danger to him if they aren't receptive. Not a good idea to breed a male until he is at least a year old.

What size is the tank that the adults are in? Males should never be housed with females permanently even if the owner wants them to breed.

It would be a good idea for you to read this thread, lots of helpful information from an experienced breeder: viewtopic.php?f=4&t=126455#p858966

 

[leah1024]

Its a t8 and I am not keeping this baby permanently. Just want to make sure its ok before it moves..i have the babies in a 40 gal and 2 adults are in a 40 gal breeder tank..he will be returning to other tank with the other baby male soon as little girls goes to her new home..i only took her because she was so tiny and I new if I left her at the pet store she would die..the others had already eaten of 2 of her toes and pet store owner didn't seem to care..she has tripled in sized since then but when baby male got drastically larger I think that's what caused this problem..she was scared of him...the females have been great with him..the one he seems to want is the 3 yr old he is always laying on her. The temps are from exactly the spot they bask with a temp gun and it is very accurate. The adult temps are slightly lower but they can get close as they want and decide there on temp. Also I have never seen any signs of stress from them they love to be out they love people they go out with me and never are stressed...they run the house and even like to hang with my dog..with supervision of course. They are even held till they goto sleep..they r very babied