Can beardies play dead?

[thewalrus]

I gave my beardie a very shallow bath to soak in and clean him off. The temperature was warm, not too hot not too cold.

He was swimming back and forth, drinking, just hanging out.

Then he went limp and started floating... I picked him up and his eyes were closed, and there was no movement at all and no breathing. He opened one of his eyes then closed it again. I freaked and put him back in his tank on his basking spot and he opened his eyes and started breathing and moving again.

Was he trying to tell me he doesn't want a bath or did something bad happen?

 

[Ethelia]

Alot of dragons 'relax' in the water by puffing their bodies out to float in the water.
Could this be it?

How deep was your bath?
Your water should be no deeper than their armpits.

Holly

 

[thewalrus]

the water was almost to his armpits, not even that deep. i dont know what happened. he just stopped moving and was kind of stiff, when i pcked him up he didnt grip my fingers at all, he was just there. he seems fine now though. it scared me pretty good.

i have a few more qusetions, that maybe somebody could answer.

1. the power went out in my neighborhood last night for over an hour. I was at work, and Yoda was in the dark, and without heat, all that time. could this do serious harm? He has seemed more lethargic than normal since then.

2. what insects other than crickets do you recommend feeding a baby? He will not eat vegies, i give him a salad of mustard greens, brocolli, and carrots every day, but he hasnt touched it all all. I know not to give him meal worms, but what is the best alternative. he loves crickets, but i would like to give him a change.

 

[Judah'sHuman]

Pheonix worms are a great feeder very high in calcium. You can also feed Dubia Roaches, butter worms. Myself I have always just fed Judah crickets and veggies. You can get a good list of veggies @ beautifuldragons.com. Young dragons are very difficult to get to eat veggies, you have to just keep tying till you find something they like. BTW Broccoli and Carrots should only be fed in moderation especially broccoli rarely feed broccoli (even if he is not eatting it right now, just wanted to give ya the info) You can also try baby food in a infant med syringe. Try baby food, squash, carrots, yams, green beans etc. just put soem drips on the nose for them to lap off, be carefull about putting it in the mouth you dont want to asperate him. Judah use to latch on to the syring and shake it to get the food out. I would shoot a little into his mouth careful not to put to much in there that he would choke.

About the power outtage. I am not sure how cold it is where you live, but as long as the tank doesn't go below 60-62 they can survive. They will slow down and go into a sleep to conserve energy and surrive.

 

[pscaulkins]

I gave my beardie a very shallow bath to soak in and clean him off. The temperature was warm, not too hot not too cold.

He was swimming back and forth, drinking, just hanging out.

Then he went limp and started floating... I picked him up and his eyes were closed, and there was no movement at all and no breathing. He opened one of his eyes then closed it again. I freaked and put him back in his tank on his basking spot and he opened his eyes and started breathing and moving again.

Was he trying to tell me he doesn't want a bath or did something bad happen?

Oh gosh, when I read this I cracked up. I was helping a person with her baby and she was really dehydrated and I put in 1" of warm water and she swam one lap and went limp, sunk to the bottom and when I grabbed her, her head was hanging down and I literally freaked out. I thought she had died. I had to pat her and massage her to get her to breath. This was so out of this world. I yelled at my husband that I had killed another person's baby. I figured out she is very timid. She hates changes and when I tried to feed her in a feeding bin, she laid down and put her arms over her head. She turned out to be an awesome little girl but timid. A stranger can hold her and she won't move at all but if we hold her she is all over us.

I recommend keep giving soaks. I did and each time for the first few times I held my breath. She never did it again after the first time.

 

[thewalrus]

Thanks so much for you response! I was freaked out!!! He seems to be doing just fine now. I was beginning to wonder if i was the one that this had happened too, i'm kind of glad that you had experienced this, not for you little girl though. Hope that she stays fine. Thanks again!

 

[Jasper's Mom]

Cam does this too. She just goes limp, closes her eyes, and sinks like a stone to the bottom of the bath! The first time she did it, I thought I had given her a heart attack. :roll: :lol:

 

[thewalrus]

so i guess this is semi normal. Scary though. Thanks again.

And thank you for the feeder info a little higher.

 

[Tatty]

Wow :shock: I didn't realize they did this. Mine have never tried it yet.

Tatty

 

[thewalrus]

Wow :shock: I didn't realize they did this. Mine have never tried it yet.

Tatty

I hope that it never does, it is very scary!

 

[pscaulkins]

Very scary. Heck I have two adult beardies that I raised from babies that never did this. I think I hyperventilated over it. But I continued to soak her as she needed it and now she is fine. My other two are not timid or shy so that is the only thing I can think of that made her do it. I, being a stranger in a strange place with new everything. It took me about three weeks to get her to eat properly and on her own. Now she is a piggy and totally comfortable unless I change something.

 

[Josh48329]

My roommate's beardie did the exact same thing too! He waddled/swam around for a few laps around the sink, then just closed his eyes, puffed up, and floated for a minute or two. Took him out, put him back on his branch in the tank and he was just fine.

He didn't sink to the bottom though, so we thought it was kind of funny rather than scary. I could see sinking and not moving being pretty scary though!

 

[thewalrus]

These guys are funny.

 

[LunaFierce]

Helix does this everytime I give her a bath. She'll be in the bath for about 15 minutes, then she closes her eyes and freezes. This is usually my warning to be prepared to get her out soon, because when she "wakes up" she spazs like there is no tomorrow.

I think she is her way of telling me "This is nice and realxing, but is now time to get me the heck out of here!"

Don't worry I freaked out the first few times when she did this. :roll: I think Beardies love nothing more than to make up panic over them. Behind their stoney faces they are lauging at us.

 

[thewalrus]

gave the Yodster a bath again today, and he puffed up like crazy and floated around, guess this is what he does. its just funny now.