Is my 7-month-old trying to brumate?

[Jess]

Ugh. I just cant figure out whats up with this little guy! :? Hes driving me crazy!
So the last week or so, he has been wanting to sleep on the cool side of his viv all the time. He isnt acting lethargic or sick, but he just wants to sleep! If I put him on his basking platform, he will leap off and race to the cool end, plop himself down, and curl up after about 5 minutes of basking. The last 2 weeks, he hasnt has much of an appetite either. I thought it was from the Panacur he had about 2 weeks before this all started, so I gave him some soy yogurt like some of the members on here reccomended. He is better, but he still doesnt have the massive appetite that he used too. Even if he is trying to brumate, I cant let him because Im pretty sure his parasites still havent cleared up.

Here is my set up: 105-110*F basking, 80-85*F cool side in a 40 breeder tank. The UV light is a Reptisun 10.0 I got in Jan., and it is 8 inches away from his basking spot. I feed him super worms (he wont eat anything else any more), and what ever greens I can get into him... He doesnt like his salads yet. I use a digital probe thermometer. He is 16 1/2 inches long.

Is he actually attempting to brumate, or is there something else wrong?

 

[Jess]

**Bump**

 

[spyder79]

Have you had a fecal exam on him since the panacur to make sure he didnt recontaminate?
Whats his weight?
I wouldnt personally suggest allowing one so small (length) to brumate but i cant say its unhealthy as i have seen it happen on numerous occassions.
I suggest getting another fecal sample run just to be sure things are ok and if all is well there then let him go down if he wants to. just keep any eye on his weight throughout the brumation period (if you start seeing drastic weightloss you will have to pull him out of brumation and get him to a vet as that is a sign of problems)

 

[bluesoda025]

Don't worry, I went through the EXACT same thing. Except my beardie was only 4 months old when she started brumating, back in November! Now, everyone kept telling me that there was something wrong, that she shouldn't be brumating, and that is generally correct. So I had her tested for parasites.. she had coccidia (not surprising) and pinworms (also not surprising, she ate crickets).

Even though I doubted that the parasites were what were causing the issue (although they might've slowed her down even more), as she looked and acted VERY healthy besides being sleepy and she gained weight and grew at a normal rate, I treated her parasites anyways just to be safe. When she was actually awake and alert, she did eat fairly well.. although she definitely slowed down on the eating during the beginning of the brumation period.

Even after her treatment, she is stilllll insisting on sleeping all day! On the occasional day, she'll be a bit more active and alert, but she sleeps most of the time still. However, she is just fine. I do feed her everyday, but there will be the occasional day when she just doesn't want to wake up to do anything.

I tried to pull her out of brumation, but she just wouldn't budge. So I just let her go with her natural cycle. If your dragon is growing at a proper rate then it should be fine, unless you notice any problems. I admit, I was a bit annoyed because right after I had gotten her, she started brumating on me. :| So I did not really have much time to interact with her or watch her be active in her tank.

 

[Jess]

Thanks for the advice! That makes me feel a bit better.
I havent gotten another test yet, because Im still trying to monitor how much hes improved, if that makes sense. He did get alot better with the meds, but not totally better. I switched some things around in his tank, and gave him the probiotics to see if it would help, and Im still awaiting some more to see some more "results"... He goes to the bathroom about 2 times a week, so its a little slow going.

He had been consistantly growing about 1/2 inch a week up untill this all started, and he has only grown 3/4 inches since. I know my scale isnt 100% accurate, because his weight was different at the vets, but last time I weighed him he was 250-270 grams. He typically eats around 8 supers a day, and he seems to have a decent amount of weight on him.

Im just so nervous that if I let him brumate, he will die because there is something else wrong with him that I didnt catch. Im really paranoid about that kind of stuff happening.
On the weekend, when Im home to monitor him, I might just try letting him sleep for the day and see what happens.
The only good thing about this right now is that he is super snuggly right now!

 

[bluesoda025]

I know what you mean about the worrying -- it drove me nuts too a few months ago when I was trying to figure it all out! These guys sure know how to make us worry.
But yeah, I would keep giving the probiotics. They do seem to help. They can never have too much of those and even if they do it gets eliminated anyways.
Try not to worry too much. Unless he's showing very obvious signs of illness, has weird stools, or his behaviour is completely off (besides the sleeping), then he should be ok.

Another thing I forgot to mention is that it may be very helpful to keep the overall tank temps fairly warm (at least 85 F everywhere). The probiotics need warmth to multiply and it also helps with the treatments.
I had to get a ceramic heat emitter in mine, to put in the center because the overall temperatures weren't high enough. Now my cool side is about 85 F, and I don't know if the CHE made a difference or not, but I can swear that she's been a touch more active and eaten more ever since I put it in.

 

[Jess]

I gave him the soy yogurt for a week and a half, but Im not giving it to him anymore, since Im not sure how good the yogurt is for them. He seems to be doing OK though appetite wise- He typically eats 8 supers a day, but today he wanted to eat mostly veggies and 2 or 3 supers.

I keep his whole tank pretty warm- I have a UTH under the slate tiles in his viv (I used to use the tank for my hermit crabs, so it was already on there), so it is nice and warm for him to lay on. I also have a lamp on to cool side ot help keep the temps up. For at night, I have a small animal heating pad that I burrito him up and put him on at night... Its made for animals to lay directly on, so he is safe on it in his blankie. So he stays nice and warm at night

Do you think he could be a little confused with the changing seasons? He is by a window, so he can see out side & see the changing light cycle things out side.

 

[Jess]

**Bump**

 

[bluesoda025]

I'm not sure whether they actually get affected by what they can see through the window. I'm sure they can detect the change in seasons though. Not sure how, but even my rabbit who can't see out a window from where she's kept can, and sheds during the same times of the year, Lol. It probably has to do with the overall drop/rise in temperatures throughout the house as well. You can try increasing the hours of light that he gets per day, but I doubt that will help much. I've tried everything and my dragon just does not want to get out of brumation. I think the only thing we can really do is to just let them go with their natural cycle, and let them come out of brumation when they feel is the right time.