How long do they brumate for in the wild ??

[LennyTheLizardKing]

Hello Thats funny I was going to give you an update today and wondering about Blue aswell. Len is still out like a rock I know he's alive because he moves his leg into different positions, plus when I give him weekly baths he will have a drink. I just noticed its been 100 days since the lights were on. Was also thinking about giving him some babyfood and start the light cycle again, Tomorrow I'm going to do it. I don't know if ishould give him the BF or wait until he has interest in salad or worms. Im not going to offer any babyfood actually he tends to like it too much and not eatanything but. Anyways thanks for the update and I will let you know how it goes :mrgreen:

hey!
how is Len? has he woken up yet?
here is what happened with Blue ... basically yesterday, i thought, ok, its warm, its spring here, maybe i will give her a little boost. lights have still been off, staying off, so nothing changed there. so i took her out, gave her a warm water soak, and put her under her light. she stayed awake, (kinda) ... but actually she stayed under the light, i let her bask for a little bit, took her out to see if she was interested in being alert, put her on the bed, and after a little bit, she walked around some. i was like, COOL ... it could be a false alarm, but im gonna just see where this goes. she went under the pillow once as if to go back to sleep ... so i lifted the pillow up a little bit, and kinda had he half under half out. her eyes started to get normal again, she started tilting her head at things, licking things here and there, walked around some, so i offered her a eaxworm bc that is all i had. she took two, and perched up on the pillow, awake and alert, for a few hours. we run our house on a wood stove, and even though it was a mild evening outside, occasionally we have to burn a really hot fire to kind of clean it out. well, last night was one of those nights so it just happened to be REALLLLLLLLLLLLY toasty (super hot for me, musta felt good for her) in the house. so i didnt mind so much letting her chill on the pillow for a while. before bed i made sure her viv lights were back off (i had turned them on earlier) and put her on her blanket. she was snoozing before no time. this AM i turned the lights back on, and when i came home, TADA! she was basking on her rock. came out on her own at some point the AM to bask. she isnt really interested in food right now, she took two bites of collards. so i gave her another soak in a little bit higher water this afternoon, and the moment i (pathetically and grossly) have been waiting for ... the first poop in almost 5 months!!! WOW i thought woah thank god that came out of her. she basked for maybe another hour, then just now went back to the cooler side and is tuckered out. i would be too i think!!!! but it LOOKS like, this might the end of brumation for Blue. the fact that she came out on here own today which she hasnt done in MONTHS is a huge deal. and the poop was a HUGE deal (LITERALLY) too. :shock:
im gonna cute the lights off around 7pm i guess and let her just be and turn them on at 7AM. i dont wanna throw too much at her at once right now.
seems like getting back in the routine of things like eating and being a active happy mood is gonna take a little while after a 4.5 month DEEP SLEEP. but i thought i would let you know, and share it with you, seeing how we were in the same beardie boat. she is starting to show small but sure signs of life, and the viv lights are gonna stay on a normal on/off routine again ... no more totally dark viv. i feel SOME sense of normalcy starting to unfold. How is Len? Whats happening with him? let me know if you can!!! ive been curious about him and thinking about him alot! CHEERS!
have a BEaRDIfUL DaY! ~ Em and Blue

 

[blue11]

Oh sounds like plan to me!!! I gave Blue some applesauce yesterday ... It can really help in getting them to poop. I thought about some baby food too, just for now, I have done it once before and omg did she love it. I think if in the next week she doesn't eat, I will give it a go as maybe an appetite booster ... Not sure but I'm on your wave length. But yup, blue was still out like a light too, and ya know she still is not totalllllllly all there, but it must be a process like everything eh? Plzzzzz do let me know about Len, he may come out of it!!!! Or he may not ... Knowing beardies, ahhhhh confusing! My luck she will go back to sleep after all my hype about her second day awake. Ha! Would totally figure. Len and Blue, help us out here!!! Ha! Yup totally let me know how it goes!!! Good luck!!!

 

[szubelak]

Hey you two! Saw your updates and thought I'd add my wake up experience from this year. Bert is now awake and has been for about 2 weeks now almost. I was out of town (of course) and told my pet sitter to just peek at him to see if he was starting to wake up etc. And well of course he was. When I got home he was just being lazy under his blankie - he was awake but droopy eyed. I put his lights back on their normal schedule and he started basking right away etc.

What I really want to share is this: He showed no interest in eating and had yet to eat ANYTHING as of 2-3 days ago (so about 7-8 days after waking up). I remembered reading that giving a probiotic can increase their appetite. A probiotic just contains the GOOD bacteria that your digestive system needs to properly digest food. I gave the probiotic 2 days ago and today he ate some of his salad which he NEVER eats unless I hand feed him. So I'm excited because I might get boys that eat veggies on their own out of this!!! I've even decided that I'm not even going to offer worms for maybe a week (depending on their weight loss) just to encourage them to eat their veggies!!! (If you do decide to get a probiotic - make sure you get one that says it's for reptiles on the package - the one I got is Bene-bac and is labeled for BIRDS and REPTILES - so check out the bird section if you're shopping for it too!)

Being a beardie parent can be stressful!!! Good Luck!
Lesley

 

[blue11]

Hey thank you SOOOO much for the tip on that! Where do you get your probiotics from?
Em

 

[szubelak]

Honestly I got them from this local (dumpy) mom and pop type pet store. They specialize in dogs, cats and birds -which is where I found the probiotics. I had searched online and both Petsmart and Petco have them on their website but way more expensive - when I called my local 2 of the above they told me they didn't carry it in the store. I think that it's such an uncommon product though that some employees might not be aware of it. I called other local shops too and one - a reptile only shop - the guy had never heard of it - so go figure! I have a thread in the health section that one of the moderators posted a link to another moderator's website where they sell it from. I'll see if I can post the link here for you.

 

[szubelak]

Here is the link to the whole post - so you can read the conversation - I had been looking for info on the probiotics myself - on the page is the link to the moderator's site that sells it. Hope it helps!

viewtopic.php?f=6&t=165913

Good Luck!
Lesley

 

[blue11]

thanks!!! ordered the gel ... she licked it right off! wish she would do that with other things dang! thank you so much!!!!!!!!

 

[szubelak]

awesome! Mine love it too! haha

 

[LennyTheLizardKing]

So I woke Len up from the dead a few days ago, he got up crawled around a bit, basked, waved his tail around like a whip ,crawled around some more, chilled out then found a spot in the corner and went to sleepies. This was over a period of a few hours, next day he was sound asleep like a rock so i jsut let him be. Today i turned the lights on and he just has his head out of his hide and hasnt moved. Still hasnt eaten anything had some water thats about it. Im trying not to give him any baby food because im sure hes still in Brumate mode and naturally isnt hungry so why feed him right? This way he wont get used to being hand fed and will eat on his own. Anyways heres some pics i took the day he got up for the first time.

 

[szubelak]

aww Len looks so cute - they do look cute when they're crabby because you woke them up! and you're probably right about forcing food - you can offer it - just put it in the tank - if he eats just make sure he poops before he goes back into a "deep brumation"

 

[blue11]

ohhhhhhh its LEN!!!!
awwwwwwwww wow its good to SEE him!!!
how's it coming along?
Blue is out and about and i think getting ready to do a mouth shed, its getting white.
the over head pic you have of Len reminds me so much of her!
and yeah, i just kept offering greens, which she pretty much refused, then a superworm here and there, she would take one, then the next day or day after two ... ordered some roaches and now she is eating the supers and roaches like a champ. you are right, your doing everything right, Len is awesome looking!!!! Such a dashing fellow!!!! i love his nose
i think its cool our beardies kinda "woke up" together. im so glad i found your post when i did!!!
OH! those pro-biotics i think helped with her appetite too ... i might have mentioned it already though :shock: sorry if i did. man she loved that stuff.
let me know how Len is doing currently id LOVE to hear about his transition back to the land of the living!!!!!!
~Emily