Brumation

[Zombiepanda]

Hello all! So it's my first winter with this fella and the past two weeks-ish he's been sleeping much much more. Bulb hasn't changed and hours are the same, but he's starting to curl up around 6pm now and sleeping. He's also eating much less. Some days he's really active and runs around his viv and the house. Other days he just won't eat and sleeps all day. He's 5 years old so he's plenty old enough for it, but I've only had him for a few months. Sound pretty typical for brumation? If so is there anything I need to do?

Side note: I want to switch from my regular incandescent to flood type bulbs for a wider light range. What brand and wattage do you guys use? (40g tank)

 

[CooperDragon]

I'd keep the lights on the regular schedule and just let him do his thing for the most part. Some of them just slow down and don't go into full brumation. It varies between dragons quite a bit from what I've read.

I use a 90w PAR38 halogen flood but it sits on a stand well above the tank. I'd probably start with a 70/75w and see how that goes in terms of temp. Best to get the wattage as close as possible first then add a dimmer so you can fine tune and account for changes in ambient temps which will be coming up soon during fall.

 

[Zombiepanda]

Full brumation is complete "hibernation" right? Like totally out for the season? Yeah I'd say a major slow down is probably the best description. I tried to contact his previous owners but hey never replied and he, I believe, was only with them for maybe three months before I got him. Should I put in a more covered hide or move his habba hut to his curl up spot?

Ok I'll grab a 70w (I can't find a 75w). The incandesscents that I have to me just aren't as bright white as the reveal bulbs, but the reveal bulbs blew left and right. (I'm a little clumsy so in turn rough on my fixture)

 

[CooperDragon]

Yeah some of them just sleep for weeks (or months) on end. I haven't experienced that but it must be pretty disconcerting.

I would avoid using the reveal bulbs since they are designed to filter yellow. That looks better to our eyes but may cause distortion for a dragon.

 

[Zombiepanda]

I haven't used the reveal since right after I got him and my last one blew. I said to heck with it and went back to my plain rough service bulbs. Fraction of the price and last sooo much longer. But I think a flood would be a better light source. The incandescent just doesn't seem very bright

 

[CooperDragon]

I agree. I've had good luck with halogens in terms of performance and also with durability. It's an added bonus that they handle dimming pretty well.

 

[Zombiepanda]

What's a good dimmer? Is there any brand that works better than others?

 

[CooperDragon]

I'm not sure about the manual ones. Mine is programmable. I'd probably trust Lutron as a reputable electronics/lighting company. Maybe something like this https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0000BYEF6/

 

[SHBailey]

It's my understanding that brumation is sort of like "hibernation lite", and the most important thing is to make sure that they don't go to sleep for a long period of time with food in their stomach, so if they stop eating and start hiding away from their heat source and sleeping a lot, you need to at least try to keep them warm enough to finish digesting until they've pooped out their last meal, then keep an eye on them and make sure they're not losing weight and that they stay hydrated and have the option to warm up and start eating again when they want to. They all seem to be different -- some sleep for several months, some stay active all year, and everything in between.

We're lucky that our beardie doesn't seem to get really serious about brumation, because with the adenovirus I'd be worried that he's not quite healthy enough for it anyway. I keep his lights on the same schedule year round, but there's a huge seasonal variation in what he sees coming in the window here in Anchorage. Right now, we're losing over 5 1/2 minutes of daylight per day -- time to pay the piper for all the "midnight sun" in the summer.

I'm still using plain old cheap incandescent white house lights and dimmer switches for heat, alongside the T5 HO for UV. It seems to work fine, but you may not be able to get those anymore. I stocked up on them a few years ago just before they stopped manufacturing them, and I probably have enough to last the reptiles for the rest of their lives. We get our dimmers at a place called "Frigid North" -- a local business something like what Radio Shack used to be, but I've never been able to find anything similar anywhere else, so that probably won't be much help. There ought to be better stuff out there than what I'm currently using since there's a demand for it.

As long as you've got reasonably bright white light (besides UV) and a way to get the temperatures where they need to be, you should be ok, but there seem to be all kinds of different ways to get there.

 

[Zombiepanda]

Hey sorry it took so long to reply!! I honestly just got busy with school and forgot to check back!!!

So he’s definitely brumating. I’m not thrilled and I’m quite jealous. I wish I could curl up in a basket with a heat lamp and just nap for days too! So far the longest he’s slept is for 4 days straight and I just dig him out to try and get him to drink some water or have a snack. I’m keeping his lights and schedule the same as usual in case he decides to come on out and eat. So far he’s walking around but refusing food, he’s definitely a little “saggier” than before likely from barely eating. How long can he go without eating???? Will he be ok if he doesn’t?? Should I get some fatty waxworms to supplement?

Also I saw a photo of someone using a wicker basket as a hide and I thought it was GENUIS!! It’s big enough for a roomy hide, but because of the weave will still allow for uvb and and more heat than a solid and thick material like his Habba hut. Plus I got it for for 50 cents ^_^ He has shunned everything else for it and I highly recommend a basket!

My incandescent is great heat wise, I just wish it were brighter. I need to get to Home Depot, but I figured no rush since he’s brumating

 

[AHBD]

No feeding during brumation and lights should be off most of the time, just on for 6-8 hrs. total. Offer water about every 10-14 days. You can't tell anything about weight unless you weigh him, so that's the way to go. Sounds like he needs to put a "do not disturb" sign on his basket cave.

 

[Zombiepanda]

.....oops!!

Well that’s be why he’s giving me nasty looks. I will adjust the light and tuck him back in. Guess it’ll give my roaches time to make plenty of babies.

He says “thanks for making that crazy lady leave me alone!!”

 

[SHBailey]

Some people recommend having food available in case they get up and want to eat, but if you do that then you have to make sure that they've emptied their digestive tract (in other words, pooped) before they go back to sleep again for a long time (not counting nightly sleep and short naps in the daytime), otherwise the food will rot in their stomach and intestines and make them sick.

You also need to make sure that he's not losing a significant amount of weight, even if it means disturbing him once in a while. If so, you may want to see if you can get him to wake up and eat by keeping the lights on longer (up to 12-16 hours per day) and offering his favorite foods.

I should also admit that this is the "unmarried marriage counselor" talking here, since I have no personal experience with a brumating beardie -- Puff doesn't seem to be into it. This is just based on what I have read.

But I also agree with you -- it might be nice to be able to just sleep through the winter. My husband and I both think that the bears (and some beardies) have the right idea. :wink:

 

[Zombiepanda]

That was my original intentions as well because I kept him warm enough to digest even if he was asleep (hence the beauty of the weave basket as a hut). Pluuuuuus I’ve heard that you can “break” brumating by keeping everything as a normal day and sometimes they’ll “snap out of it”. I’m realizing that he isn’t into that at all. He’s currently giving me the stink eye. “How dare you take me from basket.. it’s tainted now. Sit there while I shun you both!” That’s the distinct vibe I’m getting from him.

I’d end up sick because I’d go to sleep with a belly full of Taco Bell!!

 

[AHBD]

I sleep really good on pizza myself . Although I DO eat healthy I love my pizza. Anyway, what I wrote about not feeding pertains to beardies who are sleeping pretty soundly. Some people want to wake them up to eat, but that's not the way to do it. If a beardie is kind of just super slowed down, snoozing part of the day, awake part of the day you can offer food once in a while. They are kind of setting the pace for how they want to brumate , or slow down.

As for the ones who are really sleeping, offer no food but you can offer water every 10-14 days, and while they are awake for that short period the lights are on and they can decide if they want to resume activity. Some will sleep for a few weeks, others from 1-3 months. I don't let any of mine go for more than 3 months just to be sure nothing can go wrong during a really long period. Like was said by every one here so far, they all do a little differently.