Brumation Length

[mshaverly]

Hi. I haven't reached out in a while because Vhagara is still brumating and has been doing so since October 30th. Every once in a while I would see her in her hide (on the warm side) just sitting there looking sleepy. But for about the past month she has been sound asleep. I occasionally look in on her to see if she is still breathing and she is sound asleep. So, on December 30th it will be two months of no food or water. She has a water dish and I am keeping a humidifier in her room as I live in the desert with very dry air. Then with our heat on the humidity level was so low it would even register. I am trying to keep the humidity between 20% - 25%. That means keeping it running 24/7. Her lights are on for 12 hours and the basking surface is about 95 to 96 degrees. Then at night the basking surface temp is about 78 degrees. Should I be doing anything for her? When should I awaken her? I know I read earlier that i should not allow her to sleep longer than three months.

 

[AHBD]

Hi there, the 3 month brumation time is just a suggestion, not a rule. I remember writing here that I don't like for my dragons to brumate longer than that and other people took it as " don't let any dragon " brumate longer. My personal preference is simply because that amount of time is plenty and I just feel better or safer to see my dragons up + around.

The only time I let a dragon brumate for nearly 5 months at a low temp. of around 58 F she woke up with a R.I which thankfully she recuped quickly after antibiotics. So I prefer to wake them after 3 months by removing the hide, increasing the light exposure. No other dragon has woken up ill after that 1. They don't eat anything at all and rarely had a drink that I can remember even when offered. Other owners may do things a little differently. So your dragon should be fine, if you want to start increasing the light period by an hour that might help, you can start now or wait another 2 weeks or a month.

What was her condition + weight before she zonked out ?

 

[mshaverly]

She was clear of parasites and weighed 438 grams and had completed a full shed. She looks really good when I look in on her. I rescued her on August 19th and took her to the vet two times before she started brumation the end of October.

 

[AHBD]

Sounds good !

 

[Drache613]

Hello,

Those are great suggestions from AHBD. I agree in not letting them go longer than 4-5 months, especially
at cooler temperatures. Most of them tend to do a little less than that, but they seem to all be slightly
different with their brumation.

Tracie