how to wake breaded dragan up (brumation)

[ibanezboy21]

not sure if this is the right place to post

my bearded dragan has been sleeping for the last 4months (started early autumn) and i was just wondering when should i turn my lights/heaters on?
should i turn them on late winter/early spring or should i turn them on once my bearded dragan is actually 'up'?

 

[Buggsy]

Ok, where abouts in the world are you??

Just to clarify, you have not had any heat on since aug?? What have the temperatures been? Usually you give them a dark place to sleep if they want (cave etc) but keep the light and heat on. I know they are asleep but they can get quite ill is exposed to low temps for a long period.

Have you been givin baths every now and then to keep them hydrated? You should be waking every week to give about a 20-30min soak in warm water.

If he/she isnt well from dehydration/being too cold they will tend to sleep alot. If you can answer the abouve questions, but a vets visit may be in order.

Buggsy

 

[Buggsy]

woops, just read your post again, so in az you are in winter now. Well as i said you should really have the lights and heat on all the time. SOmetimes they will come out for a day or two, sometimes not. When Gizmo brumminates she just gets really lazy, basks but potatoe style, snuggles in a cave for a week, then after a bath she sits up for a week etc. But some dont wake up for months!

 

[ibanezboy21]

wont having the lights/heat on screw up their metabolism since their tryin to slow down their heart rates?
and wont taking them out and givin them a bath wake them up completely? imagine me tryin to wake up up every 4hours while your trying to sleep

 

[peera]

There are 2 schools on the lights/heat issue. As I see it, it's winter for you but the sun's still coming up, right? So maybe not as warm as normal (use a lower watt bulb), but still turn on the lights. Lots of dragons don't go all the way to sleep, so having someplace to bask if they don't want to sleep is good.

And the bath- If they're determined to sleep, you giving them a bath isn't going to wake them up more than a little, they'll go right back to sleep when you put them back in the viv. It really is necessary to prevent dehydration.

 

[ibanezboy21]

alrite thanks for the info

 

[BeardedDad]

Im in Aussie too. ( Winter time), my beardie shows no signs of brumation, is that normal?. When i wake up and turn lights on in the morning she is already awake, and at night time when we r in the lounge she dozes but sometimes when u walk close she opens one eye. ( her lights are off) . She dozes on n off during the day but not long periods. I bath her daily and she may nod off in the bath but i thought she was just enjoying it? Little confused with the whole Brumation thing. Do all beardies brumate? and is it not good for them if they dont? and why wouldnt they, am i doin something wrong? Shes about 3 years old and i have never noticed her in a real deep sleep other than night time.

 

[Buggsy]

Some do and some dont, others go to an inbetween state of not quite asleep but not fully awake either. As long as your set up is good, and your sechdule (sp?) is ok, then she will do what she feels best!

 

[ibanezboy21]

i think its 'normal' for them to do it but if u keep them at the correct temperature they wont have to
(im still learning so i might be wrong)

if i knew she was about to go into brumation i should have turned up the temp but i didn't know then( i rather have her sleep during winter than start of autumn)

 

[Buggsy]

From what i know, forcing them out of brumination or stopping them bruminating altogether by increasing temps is bad. Not that it does anything physically to them, but brumination is ingrained into their genetic make up- its what comes naturally to them as the days get shorter etc. It is not all to do with temps, its drops in pressure etc, so they can still sense they should be sleeping etc.

I know it sucks and we worry constantly that they are ok while being lazy/sleeping throught the winter, but its their natural behaviour. It is always good practice to get a anual vet check just before they start slowing down, ie sept ish.

Here is a good article explaining everything:
http://www.beardeddragon.org/articles/brumation/