Brumation... it necessary ?

[Aznrainbowdime]

HI ALL ! Sorry I've been M.I.A... but my life has been extremely hectic lately with work, personal drama, etc. You all know what i mean
Ok so let's get to the point.

MJ is 8 months old now and 16 inches. She has been showing signs of brumating, sleeping alot, extremely lazy, barely eats anything and not losing weight. I know I'm going to sound like a horrible mom right now but... I don't want her to brumate .. I'm gonna miss her terribly. I still wanna play with her, cuddle, etc. So umm, I have been forcing her to bask and be active , etc. I still keep her lights on during the day even though she's trying to sleep. Is this a bad thing ? Any of you ever tried to stop your beardie from brumating ? Do they HAVE to brumate ? If not, would they be ill, etc ? Please let me know

 

[RedInkAus]

There's nothing you can do to stop them from going into brumation. Forcing the issue actually stresses them out and weakens their immune system so brumation is good. I actually look forward to it LOL, no more tank cleaning, no smelly poop, no feeding, dusting, chopping, bathing, worrying about temps, worrying about lights. LOL. As long as i know they are healthy when they go down I love it when they sleep the months away, wish i could do that. Mine should be fully asleep by mid-April and won't wake up till August-September Ahh..... Bliss

 

[Aznrainbowdime]

Thanks for the response =) . That was my biggest concerning, stressing my baby out. I guess what you said it's true, no more cleaning tank, waking up extra early to make salad.. etc. But ughh... just the thought of my baby sleeping for months is killing me !!!!!! Plus, this will be my first brumation experience if she really does go into it.. so i'm a bit nervous regardles how many times I've read the brumating article lol .

 

[polardragon]

Totally had a brain fart about your location, Red. Took me a while to realize that Aus. has it's seasons flipped from ours :lol:

As mentioned before, you can't prevent brumation. But you'll still have Prince and Blanket to play with right?

 

[Twobeardieguy]

Rainbow long time no talk! How old is your UVB now? That can also play a factor in it a bit.

 

[Aznrainbowdime]

Totally had a brain fart about your location, Red. Took me a while to realize that Aus. has it's seasons flipped from ours :lol:

As mentioned before, you can't prevent brumation. But you'll still have Prince and Blanket to play with right?

yeah I still have them.. but theyre not as fun as MJ ! (don't tell them I said that!!!!!!!) Well, Blanket is still not allowed out his tank until he learns to behave lol. And Prince, whenever he's out, he minds his own business and doesn't really like to be cuddled.

Rainbow long time no talk! How old is your UVB now? That can also play a factor in it a bit.

Oh crap... it's coming up on 7 months old. I'll change it this weekend and see if it makes a difference. Thanks Lance !!!!!!

 

[fresnowitte]

Good call Lance cuz that's what I was thinking when I read Rainbow's post. :wink:

 

[Twobeardieguy]

Welcome. :wink:

 

[CarlosEFF]

Lance is the man on this site

 

[jmain]

I thought with when they go into brumation you still needed to give them food, baths and put the temps on for them?

 

[Twobeardieguy]

Naaa we all are Carlos! But thanks. :wink: You can wake them up once a week and bathe them and offer food if you want to. There has been a debate over this forever. I myself do not wake them up at all and most of mine stay down 6 months at a time. Just remember when they brumate in the wild they like to burrow under ground and under ground there is no UVB so it is your call. Also just remember to make sure they are healthy with nice fat pads if you are not going to wake them up. Another thing is always good and that is to have a fecal and a nice poop before they go down.