Brumation? Only six monthish

[ScienceFanatic]

Hi! It is me again.... So, Hallie (As I have been calling her lately) has been showing a lot of signs of brumation. The problem is, she is only about six months old. She has slowly been sleeping longer, eating less, and hiding under things more and more often for a few weeks now.

At first I thought it was a shed. She did shed (It seems she is constantly shedding), but her behavior did not change when she finished. Lately she has been sleeping in her cave (which she rarely did before) until around ten or eleven. Her lights come on at six. Then she will come out, eat about the same amount of crickets she always eats in the morning, and start sunbathing. When I get home around three she is hiding under her rock. She will not touch her salid (she usually eats at least half of what I give her) when I put it in. I have been a little concerned about her hydration so I often mist her a little when I put in her salid. After I mist her she licks the water up then goes and sunbathes some more. When I try to feeds her her nightly crickets, she will not touch them. She goes to bed around six (her lights turn off at seven thirty).

From what I have read, this seems a lot like brumation to me, and it is the right time of year. However, with her being so young, do I need to be concerned? I have read that they normally don't brumate under a year old. When can I expect her to start acting normally again? I have been trying to discourse it by keeping her lighting the same but it does not seem to be working. Should I just go with it and change her lighting?

Sorry for the length of this, I just want to make sure nothing is wrong. Thanks!

 

[kyleena29]

She is way too young to brumate. I would first get a fecal done to rule out parasites. As long as you think your husbandry is right on. I thought the same of mine but I know he is too young and he had coccidia though it took 4 tests to find it (last test was through a lab not in-house vet).

 

[kingofnobbys]

Hi! It is me again.... So, Hallie (As I have been calling her lately) has been showing a lot of signs of brumation. The problem is, she is only about six months old. She has slowly been sleeping longer, eating less, and hiding under things more and more often for a few weeks now. <<<< they can become very laid back about the insects as they get into the teenager stage as your's is, and they tend to growth spurts.
I'd be leaving the crickets with her between her meals with some greens and salad (they'll be attracted to them) and she'll likely nab crickets as they wonder past her when she's basking.

At first I thought it was a shed. She did shed (It seems she is constantly shedding), but her behavior did not change when she finished. Lately she has been sleeping in her cave (which she rarely did before) until around ten or eleven. Her lights come on at six. Then she will come out, eat about the same amount of crickets she always eats in the morning, and start sunbathing. When I get home around three she is hiding under her rock. She will not touch her salid (she usually eats at least half of what I give her) when I put it in. I have been a little concerned about her hydration so I often mist her a little when I put in her salid. After I mist her she licks the water up then goes and sunbathes some more. When I try to feeds her her nightly crickets, she will not touch them. She goes to bed around six (her lights turn off at seven thirty). <<<< I think you need to bump up the hours the lights are on to about 15 hours per day. 13.5 hours per day are TOO SHORT.



From what I have read, this seems a lot like brumation to me, and it is the right time of year. However, with her being so young, do I need to be concerned? I have read that they normally don't brumate under a year old. When can I expect her to start acting normally again? I have been trying to discourse it by keeping her lighting the same but it does not seem to be working. Should I just go with it and change her lighting?

<<< No if anything increase her lighting hours and DO NOT ENCOURAGE her to brumate , she is WAY TOO YOUNG as she will not have sufficient reserves to survive months without eating.

Sorry for the length of this, I just want to make sure nothing is wrong. Thanks!