Brumation

[mshaverly]

Hello,

My name is Marcia Haverly and I am a new member and new to bearded dragons. I rescued a 19 month old female on August 9th. I have upgraded her to a 120 gallon habitat with 150 watt basking bulb and a T5 HO 34 inch 39 watt UVB. She has furniture, hide, etc. and loves her habitat. I bathe her two times per week. I had to switch her to greens as she had never been introduced to anything other than crickets and super worms. She now eats collard greens, mustard greens, turnip greens, a little mango, dubia roaches, and hornworms. She gets her calcium, calcium with vitamin D, and multi-vitamin on designated days. All insects are gut-loaded. Her previous owners stated that at some point she had gone into brumation for 4.5 months but can't recall when. I took her to a vet to be checked out and vet stated she is very healthy now. Her name is Vhagara. Three days ago she ate a large meal but did not eliminate that day. In the afternoon she went to her hide and did not come out the next morning. I checked her and she seemed fine....just resting. She stayed in all day and still did not potty. The next day the same thing. I read here on this site that she should not be allowed to go into brumation without emptying her stomach and to get her up and soak her in warm water. So this morning I got her out of her hide, soaked her for 30 minutes and put her under her basking light. Once she was warm she came to the door and acted like she does when she wants food. So, I offered her food. She was very hungry. I had not prepared a salad but offered her a hornworm and 8 dubia roaches. She then went back to bask and stayed there until her lights went out and she went to sleep. She did not potty or go back into her hide out. I have backed off her lights to 11.5 hours per day now to mimic the fall sunlight. Can you tell me what I need to do now or if I am not doing things correctly? This whole brumation thing with her is more complicated than it is with my desert tortoise. (I live in Las Vegas). And I am not sure how long to have her lights on. Thank you so much.

 

[J4ckdaw-]

Ok. I am back on the worry wagon again! Vhagara has been spending part of her time in her hide but is awake. Then she will come out to bask and run around. She even came out to sit with me yesterday and run around a bit. She started begging for food and ate a bunch. She has been eating everyday. The last time she pooped was Monday and it was a hard, dry stool. She has been eating a lot everyday and no more poops. This is not normal for her. The longest she will go is every other day. Should I be worried?

If your husbandry is all on par, it’s best to let her bodily take its course on its own time. I’d give it a few more days, once my bearded dragon didn’t poop for a week. Turns out he was saving an extra big one for me!

 

[mshaverly]

So, Vhagara is coming out quite often now and eating like a pig. She stays out most of the day. I took her stool sample in to be checked for parasites and she is infected with a moderate amount of entamoeba. She is currently taking 0.08 ml of metronidazole (Flagyl). It has been interesting administering the med but we are managing. Slowly, but surely, she is eating more and more greens. (mustard, turnip, collard) I dress her salad with a little bearded dragon dressing and bee pollen. She gets this salad daily. She has not taken to any other veggies. She gets her supplements sprinkled on insects because she doesn't like them sprinkled on her salad. I keep offering yellow squash with occasional carrots, broccoli, green beans but she turns up her nose. She likes to be hand-fed. So, everyday I feed her salad until she no longer wants it. Then every other day I give her a hornworm. After she has had her greens (a good amount), I offer some dubia roaches. Yesterday she ate 12 medium roaches and today she ate 15. She wasn't turning away and I believe would have eaten more had I offered. She is getting a pudgy tummy. So, when do I say she has had enough? I don't want her to get obese. I know as an adult she is not supposed to eat this many insects. But she just isn't totally switched over to veggies yet.

 

[AHBD]

She has a good appetite ! You can cut back a little on the insects, beardies are often over fed and this can contribute to a lot of health problems down the road. Lots of veg + hydration will help her poo again much to your relief.

 

[mshaverly]

LOL! Thank you.

 

[mshaverly]

Vhagara now has three more days of metronidazole. I have to take her out of her hide to make her take it. She isn't sleeping in her hide. She is just staying in there resting and looks out once in a while. Sometimes she basks for a few minutes. I offered her only greens and squash yesterday and today and she refuses to eat it. She ate a lot of insects on Friday and Saturday, so I have not offered her any more at this time. She pooped huge on Saturday and hasn't eaten since Saturday. Should I offer her more dubia tomorrow if she come out or only salad?

 

[AHBD]

Offer just a couple to reward her for taking the meds., sort of help take her mind off of it.

 

[mshaverly]

Thank you.

 

[mshaverly]

My exotics vet just called to check on Vhagara since she is on meds for entamoeba. I had to tell her she hissed at me today when I gave it to her. She also clamped down on the edge of my thumb when I tried to get her to open her mouth. Then she was hungry and angry I think her staying in her hide is more that she is upset by having to be given medicine than it is brumation. The vet told me again that with her lights on and her habitat warm, she should not brumate. I told her I know of bearded dragon owners who tell me their dragons brumate. She told me to bring in a stool sample five days after meds are completed to check for cure. She is concerned that something else might be going on for her to want to brumate.

 

[mshaverly]

Vhagara ate well on Sunday, October 29th. She pooped well on Monday, October 30th. Then she went into her hide on the warm side and has not come out since. (4 days now) Should I leave her alone?

 

[Chris.]

Here is how I go about this.
I will at some point take my boy out to check on him, offer some water and get a weight on him. BUT I'll keep those to a bare minimum. His hides are like a safe haven to him, where he shoud feel protected and secure. Even from me and I don't want him to lose trust in those places to a point where he wouldn't even use them anymore. He knows where to get food and he knows I'll offer him water if he comes out. He won't just sit in his hide and starve, he will come out eventually
That's just my opinion, though

 

[KarrieRee]

Ok. I am back on the worry wagon again! Vhagara has been spending part of her time in her hide but is awake. Then she will come out to bask and run around. She even came out to sit with me yesterday and run around a bit. She started begging for food and ate a bunch. She has been eating everyday. The last time she pooped was Monday and it was a hard, dry stool. She has been eating a lot everyday and no more poops. This is not normal for her. The longest she will go is every other day. Should I be worried?

Dry poop is a sign of hydration - please drop water on her nose - spray her so she licks - or bath if she drinks from there