Brumation.... Twice

[SLIMESLAYER10]

So my beardie went into brumation for about 3-4ish months and then woke up for 2ish weeks, he ate like normal but then stopped eating for 2 days and went back to sleep. Sooooo I'm wondering if this is normal or should I take home to the vet?

 

[CooperDragon]

I don't think it's unheard of. How is his weight? Have you adjusted his light cycle at all during this time? Perhaps a slightly longer daylight cycle will help coax him back up.

 

[SLIMESLAYER10]

i dont have a scale but he looks the same weight, i haven't changed his light cycle but the lights are generally on for 14 hours

 

[CooperDragon]

That's a nice long day. If his weight is stable I wouldn't mess with him too much. It may be a good idea to pick up a kitchen scale so you can monitor his weight though. That's usually a good way to detect problems early on.

 

[SLIMESLAYER10]

Ok thank you, I'll go pick up a scale today

 

[CooperDragon]

He might not fit on a kitchen scale but what I do is take a shoebox top and put it on, tare the scale, put him in the box and then record the weight (in grams). I do this every day (every few days is fine) and just keep a log so I can track the trend. Daily fluctuations are normal but the trend says a lot.

 

[SLIMESLAYER10]

Ok, I'll try the shoe box thing. He was 512 grams when I took him to the vet 4 months ago at the beginning of his brumation, should he be about the same weight?

 

[CooperDragon]

512 is a good starting weight. It's not uncommon for them to lose a bit of weight during brumation as they burn through their fat stores, but it shouldn't be significant. He should be in the 400's somewhere.

 

[SLIMESLAYER10]

Ok thank you for all the help, now make sure my little guy is ok