Lizzie has been hiding for days!

[jklass]

Hi all,

Sometimes Lizzie doesn't feel like facing the rest of the day so she crawls into her hide (in the middle of the day, in summer) and either goes to sleep or lays there with her eyes half open. When she does this, she will not come out the next day; I have to take her out, warm her up in a bath, and place her in her basking spot, then she'll eat and resume her normal activities.

This time around, I decided to see what would happen if I just left her alone. Maybe she just wants to sleep for a couple days?

Day 1: she crawled into her cave in the late morning and went to sleep.
Day 2: in the morning, she crawled from her cave to underneath a log and stayed there all day. Whenever I checked on her, her eyes were half open.
Day 3: in the morning, she turned around to face the other way and stayed under the log all day. Whenever I checked on her, her eyes were half open.

Today is day 4. She hasn't moved and her eyes are still half open. She hasn't eaten or pooped since day 1. Do you guys have any idea what's going on with her?? Should I take her out and bathe her to force her to wake up?

Other possibly relevant info:
-Lizzie is almost 3 years old
-90 gallon tank
-Substrate is foam wrapped in a towel
-Reptisun 10.0 for UVB, 150 watt bulb on a dimmer for heat. The Reptisun has only been in use since April.
-Basking spot is 108F, cool side is 81F. I had the basking spot at 100-103 but after playing with the temp a bit I found her to be more active, athletic and curious with a slightly higher basking temp.
-I give her a salad every morning and crickets every other day. I dust the crickets 3 times with calcium + d3 then once with multivitamin powder, then repeat. Once in a while she gets a few dubia roaches (I'm still getting the colony going, I plan to make them her primary feeder one day).
-She gets let out to roam the apartment almost every day.

 

[AHBD]

Hi there, can you post a few pics of Lizzie as well as her set up ? Some adult dragons go through phases of inactivity, sleeping or looking half asleep for days or weeks. Is she a good size + weight ? And even though you say she seemed to prefer the high temp., she might actually be getting a bit uncomfortable in it. Is it possible that it gets even hotter as the day goes on ? Most adults like it around 100. Just throwing that out there.

 

[jklass]

Hi there, can you post a few pics of Lizzie as well as her set up ? Some adult dragons go through phases of inactivity, sleeping or looking half asleep for days or weeks. Is she a good size + weight ? And even though you say she seemed to prefer the high temp., she might actually be getting a bit uncomfortable in it. Is it possible that it gets even hotter as the day goes on ? Most adults like it around 100. Just throwing that out there.

Lizzie is 18 inches long and weighs 489 grams.

Here's her setup:
http://i140.photobucket.com/albums/r1/montacorre/Mobile%20Uploads/image.jpeg

Photos of Lizzie:
http://i140.photobucket.com/albums/r1/montacorre/Mobile%20Uploads/image_2.jpeg
http://i140.photobucket.com/albums/r1/montacorre/Mobile%20Uploads/image_1.jpeg

I just took her out to weigh her and take these photos. Her eyes were half open, and when I picked her up her eyes opened more, she was looking around, grabbing onto my hand, and when I put her down on the bed she walked halfway across the bed to snuggle up against the blankets and lay down again. She doesn't seem unhealthy, just seems like all she wants to do is lie there...

She hasn't eaten or pooped or left her hide in almost 4 days now.

I check her temps throughout the day and watch her (I work from home), she never seems to be trying to escape the heat, so I don't think that's it but I will try lowering the temps back down.

Is she bored?? Depressed? Impacted? Not getting enough UVB? Or is she just a lazy little creature who likes to just lie around for days at a time sometimes? I'm not sure what to make of this, lol.

 

[SpacialCoogs]

She could be brumating. Mine is doing the same right now. Staying in her hide for days, eyes half open or napping. Not eating, drinking or pooping.

I've been leaving her alone but bathing her to ensure she stays hydrated and keeping an eye on her weight. There's not much you can do if she wants to brumate, it's a natural process for them.

 

[AHBD]

She does look healthy, such a thick tail for a female. How long have you had her and has she ever brumated ? It may just be a phase like I mentioned....some dragons will just take a " nap" or go through a lazy/sleepy period at any time of the year. It's not harmful, so let her be. Take her out maybe once every 7-10 days for a lukewarm bath and a chance to drink. It's very common, so don't be too worried. If she does this for more than 3-4 weeks, take her out in the sun [ not in a glass tank, gets way too hot ] , sometimes that will get them back to activity.

 

[jklass]

She could be brumating. Mine is doing the same right now. Staying in her hide for days, eyes half open or napping. Not eating, drinking or pooping.

I've been leaving her alone but bathing her to ensure she stays hydrated and keeping an eye on her weight. There's not much you can do if she wants to brumate, it's a natural process for them.

Brumating? In the middle of summer?? I didn't know they did that. Here's our current weather forecast in case that's relevant (I'm in Victoria, BC, Canada):
http://i140.photobucket.com/albums/r1/montacorre/Mobile%20Uploads/image.png

 

[jklass]

She does look healthy, such a thick tail for a female. How long have you had her and has she ever brumated ? It may just be a phase like I mentioned....some dragons will just take a " nap" or go through a lazy/sleepy period at any time of the year. It's not harmful, so let her be. Take her out maybe once every 7-10 days for a lukewarm bath and a chance to drink. It's very common, so don't be too worried. If she does this for more than 3-4 weeks, take her out in the sun [ not in a glass tank, gets way too hot ] , sometimes that will get them back to activity.

Thanks for the advice. I adopted Lizzie last August, her previous owner said she was 2 years old. So I will be celebrating her adoption day as her birthday I suppose. She brumated for about 4 months, from Nov-Feb.

 

[jklass]

When I put her back in her tank last night, after photographing and weighing her, I put her on TOP of the log instead of under it. That was enough to get her up this morning... a few minutes after the lights went on she climbed up into her basking spot.

What an odd little creature. But that's one of the reasons I love her so much, lol. Thanks for your reply, I feel much better now.

 

[AHBD]

Yes, I'm sure she's fine....they are funny little creatures.

 

[SpacialCoogs]

You've inspired me to see if Scaley just needs the same thing. She's running around outside in the garden right now.

 

[jklass]

I think I've figured it out. Lizzie is just too cold to do anything. We had a pretty intense heat wave last week - the apartment was sweltering. For once, Lizzie was up and about all day, every day running around, exploring, basking, and eating. She was eating and pooping every day and the tiny occasional tremors in her legs were gone.

I am now playing around with ways to get her whole tank (not the basking spot) warmer. I turned up the heat lamp and turned it so that it's not directly pointed at her basking spot, more facing outward toward the rest of the tank. We'll see if that makes a difference. Anyone have any other suggestions?

 

[jklass]

It worked! Lizzie's whole tank is warmer now and she's active, healthy and curious. Looks like having a hot basking spot is not enough. If the rest of the tank is too cold, our beloved beardies will not be able to move and they will start looking for a place to hibernate.