Brumation...Newbie on subject

[lilgreeneyes]

So I've read many topics on Brumation over the past year, and there seems to be so much info on it. Our 3 beardies are of age where it could happen. But...I have some questions that I'm hoping that someone could help me with. I hope I'm not asking too many. We just want to make sure we are prepared, and I know there are many people on here who have experience with beardie Brumation.

When is typically the Brumation season?

Will all 3 of our beardies Brumate at the same time or even every year?

How do you tell if a beardie is getting ready to brumate?

What do you do for the beardie so that he is comfortable during brumation?

Do you keep lights off during this time?

Do they need to be woke up to be fed/bathed after a certain amount of time?

Do you feed them different things other than live feeders such as baby feed or veggies during this time?

Thanks in advance for any help and if there's anything that anyone would like to contribute that I may not be thinking, please feel free to do so. Any help will be very appreciated.

 

[randommonks]

I think this article should answer most, if not all, of your questions:

http://www.beardeddragon.org/articles/brumation/

 

[vampy]

- When is typically the Brumation season?

From now-ish until about february/march or so. In the northern hemisphere anyway

- Will all 3 of our beardies Brumate at the same time or even every year?

Nope. They might not brumate at all, they might be out for 3 months solid, or they might just slow down and have a few days of napping then a few days of awakeness and alternate between the two all winter. I think the last seems to be the most common.

- How do you tell if a beardie is getting ready to brumate?

They start eating less, and spend a lot of time in one place, normally the cool end of the tank underneath something, and generally seem lethargic

- What do you do for the beardie so that he is comfortable during brumation?

Make sure they have a safe secure place to nap at the cool end of the viv, a hide or something. So long as it's out of the glare of their lights and at the cool side, it doesn't really matter..a half log, a resin hide, or just an cardboard box with an entrance cut into it are all fine. Some people like to give them a little blanket

- Do you keep lights off during this time?

You can turn the basking light time down to 8 hours a day if you want. Some people turn the UV off unless their dragon is out and about, some people leave it. Or you can leave their lights exactly as they were before, it's totally up to you.

- Do they need to be woke up to be fed/bathed after a certain amount of time?

If they eat, they need to be given a bath a couple of days afterwards and then every day until they poop. If they aren't eating so there's no chance of food rotting in their belly, then they just need a weekly bath for hydration.

- Do you feed them different things other than live feeders such as baby feed or veggies during this time?

Feed them what they will eat. You really need to take your cues from your beardie for this one. For some dragons this might be a normal amount but only on 'good' days with a break for a few days napping in between, for some this might be nothing at all. If they do eat, you might wanna put them under their basking lamp for a couple of hours afterwards, just in case they are too sleepy to bother going there on their own. Offer them what you normally would if they are awake, and just see what happens. My bf's female does the 'long naps' kind of brumation where she stays in one place on a log for 2 or 3 days and doesn't eat, then all of a sudden she gets up and is active and eats normally for a couple of days, then back to napping. His male doesn't want anything to do with anything or anyone, and just wants to sleep under the bed, though when he was dragged out last time for a bath he did eat some salad and worms, but a few hours later started glass dancing like he wanted to come out and play, and went straight back under the bed again.

Make sure they are all big and healthy before letting them brumate. Many people take a stool sample to the vet to check for parasites beforehand.

 

[lilgreeneyes]

Thank you randommonks and vampy. You both have been so helpful.